THE 



GOSPEL PREACHER 



A BOOK OF 



TWENTY SERMONS. 



BY 

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 

Editor of the Am. Chris. Review ; Author of Sincerity Seeking 

the way to heaven; tracts for the people; and 

Publisher of the F. & M. Debate, etc., etc. 



FIRST EDITION. 



CINCINNATI: 

FRANKLIN & RICE, PUBLISHERS, 

1869. 




tfp? 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by 

FRANKLIN & RICE, . 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern 
District of Ohio. 

STEREOTYPED AT THE FRANKLIN TYPE FOUNDRY, CINCINNATI. 



CONTENTS. 



SERMON I. 

PAGE 

Evidences of the Divine Authority of the Bible 11 

SERMON II. 
What must Men Believe to be Saved? 35 

SERMON III. 
How are Persons made Believers? 57 

SERMON IV. 

Different Things to -which Salvation is Ascribed in the New 

Testament 81 

SERMON V. 
Men must do Something to be Saved 103 

SERMON VI. 
Conversion, or Turning to God 129 

SERMON VII. 
The Adaptation of the : Bible to Man 153 

SERMON VIII. 

The Simplicity of the Gospel of Christ 179 

(iii) 



IV CONTENTS. 

SERMON IX. 
The Two Covenants 205 

SERMON X. 
The Inauguration of the New Institution 229 

SERMON XI. 

Predestination and the Foreknowledge of God 255 

SERMON XII. 
The Necessity of Regeneration 281 

SERMON XIII. 
Union of Christians 305 

SERMON XIY. 

A New Testament Example of Conversion 331 

SERMON XV. 
The Course to Pursue to be Infallibly Safe 355 

SERMON XYI. 
The Love of God to Man 383 

SERMON XVII. 
The Church — Its Purity 409 

SERMON XVIII. 
The Second Coming of Christ and the Destruction of the 
World 433 

SERMON XIX. 

The Three States of Man — The Fleshly, the Intermediate 

and the Eternal 457 

SERMON XX. 
The Punishment after Death of those who Die in their Sins. 479 



INTRODUCTION. 



The author of the following discourses cheerfully conforms to the 
usual custom, in furnishing a few words by way of introduction to his 
new volume of sermons. When a new book makes its appearance, 
the inquiry is at once started, What demand has called forth another 
book? or, What is the object in offering another book to the world? 
It is due, both to the writer and the public, that a few words of expla- 
nation, in reply to the above and some other questions, should appear 
here. 

1. By means of the periodicals, and other publications, issued from 
the hand of the author of the following discourses, which have been 
extensively circulated in this country, and to some extent in other 
countries, he has become well known to many thousands as a writer 
and publisher with whom he has no personal acquaintance. Many 
of those his ardent friends he can never see and address in person. 
From these the request has frequently been made, during the past few 
years, that such a series of discourses as the following should be pub- 
lished. To meet the wishes of these, in this respect, has been one 
reason for the appearance of this volume. 

2. Again : there are many thousands, in all quarters of this country, 
and beyond the limits of our own country, who have recognized the 
name of the writer as a preacher of the Gospel of much success for 
many years past. It is now true that he has been actively engaged 
in the ministry of the Word more than thirty years, without the in- 

(v) 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

termission of a single week, except in a few instances when compelled 
by sickness to lay by for a short time, and that more than eight thou- 
sand persons have been turned to the Lord by his own personal ap- 
peals. Many persons who have been made acquainted with these 
facts, but never seen him nor heard his voice, desire to see a few of 
the discourses, as a specimen, which have been effective in the achieve- 
ment of this work. This volume is intended, to some extent, to meet 
this demand. 

3. Numerous persons who have heard the voice of the author of 
these discourses, and participated with him in the meetings held by 
him in his extended labors in half the States of the Union, desire to 
have a few of the sermons they have heard, that they may read and 
preserve them. They want them because they have heard and will 
recognize and identify them, and thus call up anew the thrilling sur- 
roundings and interesting scenes on the happy occasions of their de- 
livery, in the presence of vast audiences. They want them that their 
children may read them, and recognize in them specirnens of the preach- 
ing that achieved the great reformatory movement of the nineteenth 
century, and produced such a revolution in the public mind in this 
great and rising country. It is an item in the intention of the writer 
to meet this demand. 

4. Many friends have made the suggestion that immense good can 
be achieved by placing these discourses in the hands of serious per- 
sons, that they may consider them candidly and composedly, without 
the excitement of public occasions. We have no doubt that much 
good will, in this way, result from them. They want them to send to 
their friends who reside where they have no preaching from those de- 
voted exclusively to the Gospel of Christ, that they may understand the 
ground we, as a religious body, occupy. The volume is aimed to sub- 
serve these ends. 

THE CLAIMS OF THESE DISCOURSES. 

The author of these discourses is entirely an extemporaneous speaker, 
never in his life having memorized a single discourse, either of his own 






INTRODUCTION. Vll 

composition or that of any body else, and never more than three times 
in his life attempting to read a discourse. He preaches frequently on 
the same subject, but perfectly extemporaneously, varying widely on 
different occasions, enlarging or abbreviating as the occasion may ap- 
pear to require, and as the mind may be more active and fruitful on 
some occasions than others. While many of his numerous hearers 
will recognize themes in this volume on which they have heard him, 
and numerous points on which he has amplified, more or less, in 
their hearing, they will not find a single discourse which they ever 
heard or read word for word. Still, the themes being the same, and 
the arguments bearing such a resemblance to what they have heard 
or read, they will readily recognize them. But probably a half dozen 
paragraphs can not be found — except in a single discourse — in the 
volume, corresponding word for word with any thing the author has 
ever spoken or written. They have all been written exclusively for 
this volume. 

Such themes have been selected as to make the series of discourses 
similar to what the author has delivered on some occasions, especially 
the first ten discourses. They are intended for men in the confused, 
perverted, and unbelieving condition of thousands of well-meaning 
people of our time, to relieve them of their doubts, perplexities, and 
confusion, and stay their minds on the one Lord and his holy teach- 
ing — showing them that there is something clear, intelligible, and tangible 
on which the souls of men can rest. 

The constant aim in preparing these discourses has been to simplify, 
render every thing easy and clear, thus fitting them for and adapt- 
ing them to the people. The continual effort has been to convince, 
enlighten, and turn the sinner to God; to buildup, encourage, and com- 
fort the saints. In doing this, numerous difficult, perplexing, and con- 
troverted points are introduced, the issues clearly stated, and the 
truth vindicated, maintained, and defended. The following discourses 
are aimed to be simply Gospel discourses, stating, unfolding, advocating, 
maintaining, and defending the Gospel of Christ, and opposing, expos- 
ing, and repudiating every thing in the way of it, or in opposition to 



Vlll INTRODUCTION. 

it This is done in kindness, but in plainness, and with earnestness 
and force. An effort has been made throughout to furnish these dis- 
courses as near in the same spirit and substance as the author speaks 
as possible. 

It will be seen in the perusal of these discourses that the reform- 
atory movement of the nineteenth century is appreciated by the 
writer of these lines ; that he regards the ground occupied in this great 
movement as invulnerable; as unquestionably right; as capable of the 
most irresistible advocacy, propagation, and defense ; as the only hope 
of the present generation. It is nothing less than to return to the 
original ground in .all things; to stand precisely where the apostles 
and first Christians stood; receive precisely the same Gospel received 
by them ; preach it as they preached it ; believe it as they believed it, 
and practice it as they practiced it. As to this being not only the 
best thing that can now be done, but the only thing that can be done, 
with any hope of uniting Christians and converting the world, the 
writer hereof never expects to entertain a single doubt 

The themes of the following discourses are discussed as if the hearer 
were supposed to be listening for the first time to Gospel discourses — 
as if the entire matter were new to him. They are prepared in this 
style purposely, for the reason that the object is to give them as speci- 
mens of the author's preaching, as nearly as possible as he preaches, 
and many who will read them will need the elucidations found here 
of the plainest matters. No attempt has been made only to bring 
the Gospel of Christ to the understanding, unfold it, defend it, and 
enforce it on the hearer, to the exclusion of every thing else. As Paul 
explained that the grace or favor of apostleship was given to him 
that he "might preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches 
of Chust," and "to make all men see what is the fellowship of the 
mystery, which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God, 
who created all things by Jesus Christ;" so now, the real purpose of 
every man who knows the meaning of preaching the Gospel ought to 
be, not to blind men, but to "make all men see } " or "to enlighten all 
men as it respects the fellowship of the mystery," which, from the 



INTRODUCTION. IX 

beginning of time had, to the time of the apostles, been hid in God, 
who created all things by Jesus Christ, but which were then revealed 
to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 

These sermons come not with any claim of originality — any wonder- 
ful discoveries of any thing new or startling; they claim simply to be 
sound Gospel discourses, without display or flourish, in the native style 
of the author, addressed to the minds, hearts, and consciences of men, 
in reference to the most wonderful realities known to our fallen and 
sinful race, with the desire to make men happy, benefit and save them. 
They come not to engender strife, but to make peace — final and ever- 
lasting peace. To show men how to enjoy the peace of God and be at 
peace with all good men, is of transcendent importance. The writer 
believes there is & peace ground — a union ground — where all the good and 
true, the pure and holy, can unite, enjoy God and the holy fellowship 
of the saints, and, with one heart and one soul, labor together to turn 
the world to God. This ground, he believes, is pretty fully developed 
in the following discourses, and the objections to it shown to be with- 
out foundation, and swept away. It is confidently believed by the 
writer that the reader of the following discourses will find a ready 
relief from many of the perplexing questions of our time — a clear pa.th 
for him to pursue, and full encouragement — if he has simply an hon- 
est' desire to serve God and be saved. 

The teachings in these discourses, any man who reads them will 
readily see, is the same in substance with the teachings of the ven- 
erable men who led the way in our glorious reformatory movement, 
with the most of whom the writer has had a personal acquaintance, 
and with all of whom he has been familiarly acquainted by reputa- 
tion. To understand and give to others an understanding' of the Script- 
ures of the Old and New Testaments containing the will of God to 
man ; to do that will of God, and induce others to do it, on earth as it 
is done in heaven, was their great aim. This great aim can not be 
wrong. The writer claims to unite with them in this great aim, and 
offers this volume as a mite contributed in carrying out this aim. 

The Bible, in its own divine character, and for the purpose the Lord 



X INTRODUCTION. 

had in giving it, must be restored to the people — not merely in a neatly- 
printed volume in our mother-tongue, but in its own native power and 
grandeur. Its divine authority must be asserted, maintained, and de- 
fended, not only as true, divine, from God, but it must be enforced, 
urged, and continually impressed on the hearts and consciences of 
men. As a people, we must make all men know that we are simply 
for the Bible, in its own true import, purpose, or intent; for the God 
of the Bible, in the character ascribed to him in the Bible; the Mes- 
siah of the Bible, with the divine character ascribed to him in that 
holy book, and his offices ; the Holy Spirit of the Bible, with the office 
and work ascribed to him in the Bible ; the religion of the Bible, in 
all its parts — its facts, its commandments, and promises ; its faith, obe- 
dience, and hope; its rewards and punishments — the whole of it; no 
more, no less. To it and to its Divine Author we have vowed eternal 
allegiance; to develop it, enforce it on the minds, hearts, and con- 
sciences of ma.nkind; to advocate, propagate, maintain, defend, and 
perpetuate it has been the work of the author of the following dis- 
courses for a third of a century; to be enrolled with its friends, a 
co-laborer with them, and have their fellowship; to have their God 
for his God, their cause for his cause, and their final inheritance for 
his inheritance, is the highest honor he desires. If this volume shall, 
in any goodly degree, enlighten sinners, encourage, comfort, and 
strengthen the saints, the purpose of the writer will be fully accom- 
plished. 

BENJ. FBANKLIN. 



THE 



GOSPEL PREACHER 



SERMON, No. I. 

THEME-EVIDENCES OE THE DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 

Text.— "To whom he showed himself alive, after his sufferings, by many 
infallible proofs."— Acts i: 4. 

The Evangelist Luke, author of the book styled Acts 
of Apostles, made the statement just read, and now selected 
as a text for a discourse on the Divine Authority of the 
Bible. It is a fundamental statement, when properly con- 
sidered. It is not simply that Jesus was shown to his 
apostles after his sufferings, nor that he was shown to them 
alive, but he shoived himself to them alive. Nor is it all, that 
he showed himself to them alive, nor that he did this by 
proof, nor that he did it by proofs, nor that he did it by 
many proofs, but he showed himself alive by many infal- 
lible proofs. The apostles not only saw the Lord, and saw 
him alive, but he showed himself to them alive; and gave 
them proof, and not only proof, but proofs ; not only proofs, 
but more, many proofs ; and even more than that, mariy in- 
fallible proofs, that he was the Lord himself. This grand 
statement is fundamental; involving the great issue between 

(11) 



12 DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 

the believers in the Bible and unbelievers; the friends of 
the Bible and the enemies. It involves the foundation of 
the entire revelation from God to man. If this statement is 
true, the Bible is true and from God, and all the conse- 
quences follow, whether we understand them or not. With 
this statement the Bible stands or falls; and with it stands 
or falls our faith and our hope of all beyond this life. 

If Jesus showed himself alive after his sufferings by many 
infallible proofs, he rose from the dead. On his resurrec- 
tion from the dead, the entire question turns. An impostor 
could not have raised himself from the dead. God would 
not have raised an impostor, and thus aided him in palming 
off an imposition on the world. If Jesus rose, God raised 
him. If God raised him, he is Divine. If he is Divine, all 
he ever said is true. This is the foundation of the entire 
matter of revelation. He said he was with the Father be- 
fore time began ; that the Father loved him before the foun- 
dation of the world ; before the founding of kosmos, or the 
material world. " Before Abraham was, I am," said he. 
He said he came down from heaven. "I am the Alpha 
and the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the First 
and the Last; the Bright and Morning Star, the Root and 
Offspring of David. I am He who was dead, and am alive ; 
and behold, I live forever and ever. I am He who was, 
and who is, and who is to come, the Omnipotent." He was 
before all things, and by him all things consist. It was by 
him and for him the universe was made. He is the express 
image of the invisible God and the brightness of the Fa- 
ther's glory. In him dwells all the fullness of the Deity 
bodily. The apostles say, He knew all things. He came 
before the world as no other teacher ever did, declaring, 
"I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to 
the Father but by me." " I, if I be lifted up, will draw 
all men to me." 



DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 13 

There is no account of his having been educated, or hav- 
ing any opportunities, in continuous association with the 
wise, the learned, and the great. On the contrary, he was 
evidently brought up in comparative obscurity. Yet, on 
coming forth from this obscurity, to the position of a public 
instructor, the very first time he opened his lips, and on 
every subsequent occasion, he showed that he knew all 
about man, what was in him, even to his very thoughts; 
that he knew the Scriptures thoroughly ; the patriarchs, the 
prophets, and the entire history of man, from the creation 
down to his time. He was never deceived nor disappointed 
by any man, nor set of men, but saw through them and all 
their designs ; knew and frequently foretold the results that 
would follow. From the day he entered his public minis- 
try till he ascended to heaven, it is clear that he saw all 
things in advance, comprehended all that was coming, and 
that even his enemies were blindly following the programme 
he had marked out for them, without seeming to know that 
they were confirming his claims as a prophet, and proving 
that he could see the future as clearly as the past. 

The issue to be examined in this discourse is not about an 
opinion, a speculation, or some intricate theory, but about a 
person — the most wonderful person that ever appeared as 
an inhabitant of this earth. The issue now in hand is not 
about his personal appearance either, his manners, or peculiar 
points in his teaching, but about Him, as a person. The 
whole issue centers in and turns on one question. That ques- 
tion is, Did he rise from the dead f If he rose, his claims are 
all established. The Bible is a Divine Book. If he did not 
rise, his claims amount to nothing, and the Bible is without 
Divine authority, and only to be regarded as any other book 
of antiquity. Before coming to the main point of discus- 
sion, it is necessary to array before the mind the two par- 
ties — the friends and the enemies of Jesus, the believers and 



14 DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 

unbelievers; examine their ground, what they claim, what 
they propose; what they affirm and what they deny; how 
far they agree and wherein they differ. 

What, then, do unbelievers claim? What do they af- 
firm? What do they advocate? What do they defend? 
The deliberate answer to each of these four questions is, 
Nothing, nothing under the shining heavens, either for tJtis 
world or the world to come. They claim nothing, affirm 
nothing, advocate nothing, defend nothing. They deny 
Christ, the apostles, the prophets, and the Bible, as possess- 
ing Divine authority, but propose nothing instead. They 
would take the Bible from us, our faith and hope, but pro- 
pose to give us nothing in return. They would take away 
the Church, the ministry, and all our religious edification, 
but propose nothing in return. They would take away our 
worship, and all the hallowed memories of the kingdom of 
God, but give us nothing in return. In casting away the 
Scriptures and the Savior, they do not propose any other 
system of religion. They believe no other. They believe 
nothing, advocate nothing, and defend nothing. They sim- 
ply deny what others believe, pull down w T hat others build 
up, oppose what others defend. They have nothing to offer 
you but doubts, instead of your unshaken faith ; confusion, 
instead of your clear and intelligible understanding of the 
right way of the Lord ; their want of confidence, instead of 
your confidence; their restlessness of mind, instead of your 
peace with God; their wavering and continual distrust of 
every thing, instead of your full assurance of faith ; their 
want of confidence in God, instead of your everlasting trust 
in him. 

We might have some reason for listening to a man who 
proposes something, but certainly none in listening to a 
man who proposes nothing; who has nothing to believe; 
no theme, except how many things he does not believe; how 



DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 15 

many things he does not understand ; how much is absurd, 
inconsistent, and contradictory to his mind. We can not 
lean on things that we do not believe, nor things that are 
absurd. We must have something in which we have confi- 
dence, which we believe, living and dying, in order to hap- 
piness. To be happy, the soul of man must have something 
on which to rest ; on which to lean with the fullest assurance 
of faith. 

Nor is it in the way of the full assurance of faith, that 
we find some things in the Bible that we do not understand, 
or can not explain. That only proves that the Bible, in that 
respect, is like all the works of God, deep, profound, and 
wonderful, beyond the comprehension of the human mind. 
But the matter now to be investigated is not of that char- 
acter. It is a question of fact. The same mind required 
in the investigation of questions in the arts, in science and 
history, is required here; the same reason and understand- 
ing also. The friends of the Bible come before the world 
with a proposition, on which, in the nature of the case, every 
thing rests, and on which they rest every thing — an affirma- 
tive proposition. But to approach the question with intel- 
ligence, it is necessary to look at the surroundings, and 
ascertain what is admitted, what is denied, and the real 
ground of controversy. The following items are admitted : 

1. That there was such a person as Jesus of Nazareth. 

2. That he lived at the time assigned to him in the Bible. 

3. That he lived in the country assigned to him in the 
Bible. 

4. That he was nailed to the Roman cross. 

5. That he actually died on the cross. 

6. That the body was given to Joseph of Aramathea. 

7. That Joseph laid it in his own new tomb. 

8. That a great stone was placed at the entrance of the 
tomb, and an armed guard of Roman soldiers was stationed 



16 DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 

over it to guard it ; that the directions given those who 
posted the guard there, were, to " make it as secure as you 
can." 

9. That the reason for posting the guard there, was that 
the enemies remembered that he said he would rise the third 
day, and they feared that his disciples would steal the body 
and tell that he had risen from the dead. 

10. That early on the morning of the third day, the body 
was missing — that it was not in the tomb. 

In all these points there is a perfect agreement among 
both friends and enemies. A dissenting voice is not heard. 
But here comes the real issue. It is in accounting for the ab- 
sence of the body. The two parties — the friends and the ene- 
mies — account for its absence in two different ways. The 
friends say, the body was raised from the dead. The enemies 
say, the body teas stolen. Here is the issue. So far as the in- 
formation goes, no other ground has been taken by any body. 
The judgment must be made up between these two grounds. 
The testimony and surroundings on each side must now be 
briefly considered. Turn your attention to the enemies' 
side first. What is their position? It is that the body was 
stolen. Who were their witnesses ? The Roman guard, con- 
sisting of sixty soldiers. The number of witnesses is suffi- 
cient to prove any thing, all things being equal. To what 
do they testify? That the body of Jesus was stolen from 
the tomb. So far the testimony appears clear and conclu- 
sive. Who stole the body ? They say the disciples stole 
it. That statement also appears clear and conclusive. 
Where was the guard when the theft was committed? They 
were all at their post. That appears to place them in a 
proper position for witnesses. What were they doing while 
the disciples committed the theft? They say they were asleep. 
This involves their testimony in the depths of absurdity, 
and completely destroys it. Stop and consider the matter. 



DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 17 

1. If they were confessedly asleep, how did they know the 
body was stolen f How did they know the disciples stole 
it ? If they were asleep when the body disappeared from 
the tomb, how did they know that it did not rise and 
walk out ? The confession that they were asleep when the 
body disappeared from the tomb, had it been true, was a 
clear confession that they knew nothing about the question 
how the body disappeared, and could not be competent wit- 
nesses touching the question in dispute. Had they been 
asleep, they could have testified that, when they awoke from 
their sleep, the body was gone from the sepulcher, but cer- 
tainly could not have testified as to the manner in which it 
disappeared. These considerations set aside their statement 
as wholly unreliable. 

2. But their statement is unreliable on another account. 
It was certain death, under the Roman military law, for a 
soldier to be found asleep while on guard. Then the guard 
was divided into different watches, and each watch only re- 
quired to be on guard six hours at a time, involving no ne- 
cessity for being sleepy while on guard. Then, it would 
have been marvelous for the entire watch to have fallen asleep 
at once, and so soundly asleep, as not to have been awak- 
ened by the rolling away of the stone from the entrance of 
the tomb, which was " very great," and the entire transac- 
tion of taking away the body ! This is an incredible story. 

3. But if they were asleep, why were they not brought 
to account and punished, for violating the military laws, 
especially in such an important case ? There is not a word 
about their being tried or punished ! If the confession of 
their having been asleep had been believed, would the whole 
thing have passed off thus quietly ? By no means. They 
would have been tried and punished. 

4. They had the disciples completely in their power. 
Why did they not confront them with the theft, and compel 

2 



18 DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 

them to return the body when they commenced telling that 
it was risen ? The reason is, they did not believe the story 
themselves. They knew that the disciples did not have the 
body in their possession. 

5. What motive could the disciples have had in stealing the 
body ? They could not have made it alive. They would 
have known that they could have been compelled to return 
it, and that, it being found in their possession, would have 
been a means of exposing them. They knew they were 
powerless, and that there would have been no difficulty in 
bringing them to punishment. 

6. It is also true that the disciples never understood 
what he said about rising the third day, and did not believe 
that he would rise. They believed, till the last, that his 
kingdom would be an earthly kingdom, and that he would 
be an earthly king; and, when he died, all their expectations 
in him were blasted. They went away, saying, "We 
thought it was he who was to have redeemed Israel." They 
gave all up as lost. After he rose, they still had the idea of 
a civil government in their heads, and said to him, " Lord, 
wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel ? " 

7. The thing reported was impossible. The moon was 
at its full, giving light all night. The Jews from all na- 
tions under heaven were there, in attendance on their great 
anniversary, tented in all directions; and the Roman guard, 
ever watchful, was there, rendering it impossible for those 
discouraged and disappointed disciples to have gone to the 
tomb, rolled away the stone, taken the body, and con- 
veyed it away unobserved. The man who can believe the 
story that the disciples stole the body of Jesus, as reported 
by the guard, ought never to say any thing about the cred- 
ulity of Christians, for he can believe not only without evi- 
dence, but against all evidence and reason. There is nothing 
here on which any human being can rest the soul. 



DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 19 

But now turn your attention to the other side, and con- 
sider the account. How do the friends of Jesus account for 
the absence of the body from the tomb on the morning of 
the third day? Their account of the matter is, that he rose 
from the dead. Who are their witnesses? The following 
list is given by Paul : 

1. He was seen alive, after his resurrection, by Cephas. 

2. He was then seen by the twelve apostles. 

3. Afterward, he was seen by more than five hundred 
brethren at once, the greater portion of whom were still liv- 
ing when Paul wrote the first letter to the Corinthians. 

4. After that he was seen by James. 

5. Then by all the apostles. 

6. Last of all, by Paul. 

These witnesses were not all present, it will be observed, 
on all the occasions alluded to ; nor are these occasions the 
only ones on which he was seen ; nor are the persons here 
enumerated the only persons who saw him after he rose from 
the dead. But these are sufficient for the present purpose. 
They did not all see nor observe the same things; but 
among them were some who saw him repeatedly during a 
space of forty days; who ate with him, drank with him, 
handled him, heard him, and, on sundry occasions, had the 
fullest opportunity to make themselves competent witnesses. 
In these interviews, he talked over many of their previous 
transactions, explaining things he had taught them, and 
bringing all things to their remembrance. Concluding 
these personal interviews with them, he took them to Mount 
Olivet, and in their presence, and in open day, ascended up 
into heaven. This makes substantially the case. The next 
thing is the examination. There are but two grounds on 
which testimony can be made doubtful. 1. If there can be 
shown a possibility of mistake on the part of witnesses, it 
renders the testimony doubtful. 2. If the honesty of the 



20 DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 

witnesses can be questioned, it renders the testimony doubt- 
ful. But if the witnesses could not have been mistaken, nor 
dishonest, there remains no ground of doubt. These are the 
two points now to be examined. 

I. Could these witnesses have been mistaken ? They cer- 
tainly could not. If they did not testify to the truth, they 
knew they did not. There was no mistake about it. The 
reasons for saying they could not have been mistaken must 
be given somewhat in detail : 

1. He was seen on too many different occasions, by too 
many different persons, and by some of these persons too 
often, for them to have been mistaken. If but twelve 
persons had seen him but one time, in open day, the testi- 
mony would have been considered conclusive. But he was 
seen of above five hundred brethren at one time, by the 
twelve more than once, and by several others again and 
again, during a space of forty days. So many of them saw 
him so frequently, that they could not have been mistaken. 
If what they said about seeing him was not true, they knew 
it was not true. 

2. There could have been no mistake about identifying 
him on these occasions, for there were so many who saw him, 
and the opportunities for identifying him were such as to 
render it impossible for them to have been mistaken. They 
saw him in daylight, ate with him, handled him, and con- 
versed with him. In these interviews he rehearsed many 
things he had said, and spoke of many things he had done 
before his death. The interviews were too numerous, the 
conversations too extended, and the things on which they 
discoursed were of such a nature as to identify him beyond 
all dispute. 

3. They were with him in open day ; heard him say that 
he was about to leave them, and return to his Father; and 
on the Mount of Olives they saw him ascend to heaven. 



DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 21 

They saw, also, a convoy of angels, who said, "Why stand 
you here, gazing up into heaven ? That same Jesus, whom 
you see ascending into heaven, shall so come in like manner 
as you have seen him ascend into heaven." There could 
have been no mistake about the main matter here. If these 
things were not true, they knew they were not true. 

4. The apostles claimed that the Lord, after he ascended 
to heaven, gave them power to heal all manner of diseases — 
to give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and speech to 
the dumb. They said they did all these things. In saying 
this, they could not have been mistaken. They knew whether 
they did these things. 

5. Some of these witnesses made statements that could have 
been proved false, if they had been false, by almost any num- 
ber of persons. As samples: the statements of Matthew, 
published in Palestine, eight years after the death of Christ, 
that he fed thousands, in open day, by miracle; that there 
was a great earthquake when he died ; that there was dark- 
ness over the whole land from the sixth till the ninth hour ; 
that the vail in the temple was rent in two from the top to 
the bottom j that the rocks were split ; the statement of 
Paul, that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at 
once. These, and many more statements like them, could 
have been disproved by almost any number of witnesses, 
if they had not been true; and the enemies could have 
thus defeated the apostles. But instead of these statements 
being refuted, they are confirmed by all the testimony in 
the world, in any way bearing on them. They stand, not 
only uncontradicted by any thing written in that age, but cor- 
roborated by every authority having connection with them. 
These were statements about which they could not have been 
mistaken. 

6. They claimed that they were inspired by the Savior, em- 
powered to make revelations from God, and to speak in all 



22 DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 

the languages under heaven — languages that they had never 
learned. They knew whether they had received these rev- 
elations and whether they could speak these languages. They 
could not have been mistaken here. 

This is certainly sufficient to show that there was no ground 
for mistake on the part of these witnesses in regard to the mat- 
ter in hand. If the things they testified to were not true, 
they knew it. 

II. The other side remains to be considered. Could they 
have been dishonest ? Could they have been pretenders ? 
They certainly could not, for the following reasons : 

1. They had no inducement to tell falsehoods touching 
the matter in hand. Every earthly interest they had was 
against the ground they took, and in favor of their renounc- 
ing it. 

2. That Jesus rose from the dead, if not true, was the most 
unpopular and unwelcome story that any man or set of men 
could have told at the time in which they lived. The idea, 
that these timid men would have had the boldness and de- 
termination to face the world, Jews and pagans, and declare 
persistently that Jesus rose from the dead, knowing it to be 
false, is the very climax of absurdity. 

3. Admitting the possibility of these timid and cowardly 
men (as they were before the death of Christ) to have had 
the effrontery to stand up in Jerusalem, before the learned 
rabbis, the doctors of the law, the scribes and priests, at the 
first, and declare that Jesus rose from the dead, knowing that 
they were telling a falsehood ; still, there remains no way of 
accounting for their 'persistence in their statement, and main- 
taining that it was true, though every possible means were 
used to induce them to recant, till they sealed their testimony 
with their blood. What man of intelligence can believe that 
these men were dishonest ; mere pretenders ; telling what they 
knew to be false, and that they were true to (heir original 



DIVINE AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 23 

purpose, and every man of them stood by every other man 
in telling and maintaining the falsehood, through stripes, 
imprisonments, and banishments, till the last one was mar- 
tyred for telling the falsehood, and not a man of them could 
ever, by any means, be induced to give it up? The man 
who can believe this ought to say nothing of the credulity 
of Christians ! It is to believe that men can have two oppo- 
site characters at the same time, and maintain both till death ; 
that they 'can be hypocrites, pretenders and deceivers for 
life, engaged in palming off a grand falsehood on the world ; 
and yet so true to their falsehood and to each other, that not 
one of them ever could be induced to betray and expose the 
falsehood or his fellow- witnesses. Not one of them ever 
could be induced to save himself from stripes, imprisonment, 
or death, to turn States evidence ! What they stated at the 
first, they stated at the last. 

4. Take Paul as a more particular example. Three times 
he was beaten with rods, once he was stoned. Five times he 
received forty stripes, save one. He was exposed to wild 
beasts in Ephesus. Finally, in Rome, he was deliberately 
beheaded. Yet he stood to the same testimony from the first 
till the last. Can any man doubt that he was an honest 
man? 

5. Those men bore unquestionable marks of honesty, sin- 
cerity and candor in the purity of their lives, the purity and 
correctness of their teaching. They not only taught purity, 
but practiced it. 

If, therefore, these were not honest, sincere and candid 
men, the world never contained any. They gave the high- 
est evidence that men can give of honesty and sincerity. 
It is, therefore, impossible for men who understand what 
evidence is, men of intelligence, to conclude that they 
were dishonest. It is morally impossible for them to have 
been dishonest. It follows, then, with the force of dem- 



24 DIYIXE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 

onstration, that, as they could not have been dishonest, and. 
could not have been mistaken, their testimony is true. The 
Lord rose from the dead. He is Divine, and the Bible of 
Divine authority. He was dead, but is alive, and lives for- 
ever and ever. In him all fullness dwells. He is head over 
all things to the Church. He is the way, the truth, and the 
life. 

But now turn back to the first preaching of the apostles. 
Where did they first preach after he rose ? In 'Jerusalem, 
where, fifty days before, it was unanimously agreed, he died. 
Here was the place where the people were better prepared 
than anywhere else in the world to judge of the truth of 
their preaching ; and among the people who had all the op- 
portunities of knowing whether they told the truth or not, 
and they, too, the most decided and determined people in 
their religion on the face of the earth. Here the apostles first 
stand up, with all the late and present surroundings in the 
minds of the people, and preach. What is the main ground 
of the first discourse? That the same Jesus, whom the peo- 
ple had crucified some fifty days before, had been raised from 
the dead and exalted to the right hand of God, and the 
sublime display of supernatural power which they saw and 
heard was from him. Here the people, in thousands, who 
were posted in the events of the past few weeks, stood around 
the apostles, and saw and heard what was before them. Their 
prejudices were all against them. Popularity was against 
them. All worldly interests were against them. All exist- 
ing church relations were against them. What is the result? 
Three thousand sturdy and determined Jew* turn their backs on 
their former church, their worldly interests, and sins, and yield 
to the authority of Jesus the Christ. In a few days, five thou- 
sand became obedient to the faith. Shortly the Gospel 
reached Samaria, and the people, with one accord, gave heed 
to the things spoken by the preacher of Jesus. Triumph- 



DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 25 

antly, grandly, and sublimely it moved onward. In ten 
years the Gentiles became obedient to the faith. In less 
tli an forty years it traveled the length of the Mediterranean 
Sea and throughout the Roman empire. 

Did uninspired fishermen of Galilee; illiterate, timid, and 
weak men, do all this, in their own strength? Did they do 
this by telling a falsehood, sticking to a falsehood, and, in 
their mere human strength, preaching a falsehood? If they 
did, their falsehood did more than any truth ever did since 
the beginning of time, for such a revolution had never been 
brought about before by any sort of preaching, true or false. 
To say that the apostles did this in their own strength, by 
preaching a falsehood, and one of the silliest falsehoods ever 
told, too, if it was a falsehood at all, is to say, that the most 
stupendous, grand, and sublime religious movement recorded 
in the world's history, was achieved by weak and ignorant 
men by preaching a falsehood, in spite of all the learning, 
talent, money, prejudice, pride, popularity, civil and relig- 
ious authorities on the face of the earth ! The man who 
will say this, is not a subject of argument. 

No doubt, many statesmen, philosophers, men of wealth, 
and powerful men of the world of different kinds, as well 
as distinguished religionists of different kinds, of that day, 
thought the whole affair about Jesus of Nazareth a shallow 
thing, with which the people had been carried away, and 
that, in a short time, there would be nothing more heard of 
Jesus or his apostles. But how stands the case now? 
Eighteen centuries have gone into the past, and their events 
are known in history. What has become of the statesmen 
of Greece and Home? Excepting a few, their names have 
gone into oblivion. Where is that mighty civil superstruc- 
ture, on which they put forth their greatest power and skill? 
In less than four hundred years, it was divided into petty 
kingdoms, and the wisdom of the great men who framed the 
3 



26 DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 

Roman government was shown to be foolishness with God. 
"Where are the philosophers of Greece and Rome? Except- 
ing a few, their names are not even found in history. Their 
systems of philosophy have been exploded, and many of the 
things in which they gloried and prided themselves most, 
have been demonstrated to be erroneous and false. Where 
are the men of wealth of those times? Gone, ages since; 
their vast estates scattered to the winds, and they forgotten. 
But where is the name of Jesus of Nazareth ? It has been 
interwoven with the history of the civilized world for eighteen 
hundred years. Every infidel that now writes a letter, in 
some form or other, puts down " the year of our Lord, one 
thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight." Every note of 
hand, bond, deed, mortgage, bank cheek, summons, receipt, 
no matter by whom written, believer, or unbeliever, bears 
" the year of our Lord on it," either in full or in some 
abbreviated form. If any man thinks the power of our 
Lord Jesus the Christ is nothing, or a matter of no con- 
sequence, let him inquire for the origin of the observance 
of the Lord's day or the first day of the week. What states- 
man, philosopher, or great man of the world, originated the 
observance of the first day of the week? No great man did 
it. It originated with Jesus of Xazareth. Has he any power 
on earth now? Lift up your eyes and look at the stupendous 
business operations of the civilized world. See the busy mul- 
titudes in the departments of agriculture, mechanic arts, com- 
merce, and trade, as the week closes. Then, open your eyes 
on the Lord's day morning, and see the general suspension ! 
Where is the power that suspends all this ? Whose wonderful 
hand stays and suspends all those busy multitudes? Where 
did all this originate? You trace back and find the origin 
of it in the resurrection of our Lord from the dead. Before 
that event, nothing of the kind described had ever existed 
on the first day of the week. There had been such a thing 



DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 27 

as the observance of the Sabbath or the seventh day, but 
no observance of the first day as a sacred day, since the 
beginning of time. 

Amid all the unbelief, the hardness of heart, and terrible 
impenitence of these times, the name of Jesus finds its way 
into all the records, the legal documents, the documents of 
State, and the entire literature of the civilized world. Even in 
the most degraded forms of an apostate church and people, 
the name of Jesus fills every thing. Where, too, are the 
names of the apostles? Their names, have gone wherever 
the name of Jesus is known. Where, is the Gospel of Christ? 
Written, printed, and circulated, in the Scriptures, through- 
out the world. After the Jews have hated, despised, and 
malignantly fought the religion of Christ, the apostles, and 
the Lord himself, for eighteen hundred years ; after the pa- 
gan world have fought it as long, and powerful and learned 
infidels have put forth their most determined efforts to crush 
it; in one word, after it has stood the criticism and opposi- 
tion of all the combined influences that could be brought 
against it, for eighteen hundred years, it is received and 
believed by more people than at any other period since it 
became a power among men. What is grandly in its favor 
is, that the most powerful, enlightened, and elevated people 
in the world, are the people who receive the Word of God. 
The most pure, benevolent, and good people in the world, 
are those who practice the Bible most closely. 

Faith in the Savior and in the Bible, never gives way at 
the approach of death. This can not be said of Infidelity. 
There is, it may be admitted, now and then a determined 
case of infidelity, where a man resists the Bible and hugs his 
infidelity till the last. Cases of that kind are not the rule, 
but the exception. No man can know precisely; but, in nine 
cases out of ten, when death is supposed to be approaching, 
skepticism vanishes away and disperses like mist before the 



28 DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 

rising sun, and leaves the soul without any support in the 
most trying hour. It is simply a matter of feet, that at 
death, or the supposed approach of death, the faith of the 
saint becomes stronger and stronger, and the unbelief of 
the skeptic becomes weaker and weaker. The believer 
maintains his ground, and leans on his faith to the last. It 
never fails him. In numerous instances, skeptics repudiate 
their unbelief with their last breath, and warn their friends 
against it. Why is this? The reason is, there is reality 
on the side of the believer. He is founded on the Rock 
of Ages, and can sing in death, "How firm a foundation, 
ye saints of the Lord." The dying saint can commend his 
faith to those he leaves behind. The infidel repudiates his 
unbelief when he is dying, and admonishes his friends and 
warns them against it. In the last moments, there is a great 
difference between the man who can say, "The Lord is my 
shepherd/' and the man who says " There is no God." 

But, turning to the skeptic again, before closing the pres- 
ent discourse, What does he propose? To do away with 
the Bible, the ministry, the Church, and all religioD. "What 
are we to have, then? Xo Bible, no ministry, no Church,- 
and no religion; nor error, nor superstition, nor imposition-. 
Indeed! But the world is filled largely with religious es- 
tablishments that came not from the Bible, that are not only 
not authorized by any thing in the Bible, but condemned by 
the Bible. Not only so, but error, superstition, and impo- 
sition abound where the Bible has never gone, and is not 
known — error that did not originate with any thing in the 
Bible. Banishment of the Bible is no guarantee that error, 
superstition, deception, and imposition shall cease. The 
Lope, at one time, had the Bible well-nigh done away, but 
there was more erro stition, deception, and imposition 

then than ever existed where the authority of the Bible 
prevailed. Deception was then reduced to a science. When 



DJVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 29 

they got the authority of the Bible out of the way, the 
Romish priesthood were organized and confederated in a 
grand systematic scheme of delusion and deception. The 
entire scheme was used with no other clear purpose than 
to delude and deceive the people. It was then that the 
most terrible spiritual despotism ever known on the face 
of the earth prevailed and did its work. The reaction 
from this, in one form of it, resulted in the atheism of 
France, when the best thing they had for man beyond this 
life was "Death, an eternal sleep." It was then and there 
that Jacobinism prevailed. It was then and there they cut 
off the heads of some of the noblest of men and women. 
It was then that the king and queen lost their heads. The 
millennium of Romanism, without the Bible, preceded the 
tragedies in France, and the millennium of unbelief followed. 
No man of sense, who is a friend to his race, desires these 
scenes, or others like them, to be rccnacted, or follow on us 
or our children. Yet you have no security for any thing 
better without the Bible. 

But now some application must be made of what has 
gone before. The question will come up, How does it fol- 
low, as a sequence, that the Bible is of divine authority if 
the foregoing reasoning is correct? This we will now pro- 
ceed to show. 

1. The foregoing argument is to prove that Jesus of Naza- 
reth is the Christ, the Son of the living God. This is the 
foundation of the divine authority of the Bible. It was in 
reference to this, that, when Peter made the statement, " Thou 
art the Christ, the Son of the living God," the Lord said, 
" You are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my Church ; 
and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it." This 
i,s the great proposition of the new institution. When it is 
proved, all minor ones are proved, as a matter of course. 
This may not be obvious to every person, at a glance, and 



30 DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 

the argument must be carefully restated and the reasoning 
applied. 

2. In the foregoing argument, it is assumed that if Jesus 
is the Christ, the Son of the living God, his claims are es- 
tablished, and all he ever taught is true; but this has not 
been elaborated. The intention now is to restate, elabo- 
rate, and apply it. 

3. The whole argument has been shown to rest on the 
resurrection of Christ from the dead. No power this side 
of the power of the Almighty could have raised him. The 
Almighty would not have raised an impostor, and thus aided 
him in palming off an imposition on the world. This led 
to the foregoing brief argument to show that he rose from 
the dead. The result of the argument is as follows : 1. 
God raised him from the dead. 2. If God raised him, he 
is the Christ, the Son of the living God; or, which, in 
amount, is the same, he is divine. All his claims are true. 
But how does this confirm the divine authority of the Bible? 
Mainly in the following three ways : 

1. He fulfilled numerous predictions of the Old Testa- 
ment, such as could not, by any possibility, have been ful- 
filled by an impostor, thus confirming the divine authority 
of the inspired prophet, who, by the Spirit of God in him, 
looked down through many long centuries and predicted 
what would come to pass, and, on the other hand, confirmed 
the divine authority of Him who fulfilled these numerous 
and wonderful predictions. These prophecies, and their ful- 
fillment, connect and interweave the Old Testament with 
Jesus, so that both stand or fall together. The reasoning 
turns both ways : The prophets of the Old Testament point 
to Jesus and find their fulfillment in him. He comes and 
fulfills their predictions, and thus the divine authority of the 
prophets and of himself is established. 

2. After establishing his own divine authority, he called, 



DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 31 

qualified, sent, and confirmed the divine mission of the apos- 
tles, thus indorsing them and the portions of the Bible 
emanating from them. All they said and did is indorsed 
by him. As certain as he is from God, all the portions of 
the Bible from them are divinely indorsed. This settles the 
divine authority of the New Testament. 

3. The claims of Jesus of Nazareth to be the Christ, the 
Son of the living God, or, which is the same, Divine, being 
established, all his acts and words are of divine authority. 
It is, then, settled that he was with God before the world 
was ; that it was by him and for him the worlds were made ; 
that he was before all things, and by him all things consist ; 
that he who saw him saw the Father; that he thought it 
not robbery to be equal with God ; that he is the express 
image of God and the effulgence of his glory; that in him 
all fullness dwells ; that the fullness of the Godhead dwells 
bodily in him ; that he knew all the past, the present, and 
the future. That he could look into the past, was evinced 
by his unlimited acquaintance with all the Old Testament 
Scriptures, characters, and events, which was shown in all 
his conversations and discourses. Every thing mentioned 
in the history of the past was as familiar to him as the pass- 
ing events around him. He knew all about the flood, Noah, 
Egypt, Pharaoh, Moses, the kings and prophets of Israel; 
Nineveh, Tyre, Sidon, Sodom, and Gomorrah. He looked 
forward, from forty years before the fall of Jerusalem, and 
saw the Jews fall by the edge of the sword, carried away 
captive among all nations, Jerusalem trodden down of the 
Gentiles, and the fulfillment of the times of the Gentiles, 
events extending down through eighteen hundred years, now 
fulfilled and fulfilling before the eyes of an unbelieving gen- 
eration. The whole turns on the following three points: 

1. He knew all things. 

2. All authority was vested in him. 



32 DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 

3. All he indorsed is of divine authority. 

What, then, did he indorse? He indorsed Moses, in nu- 
merous instances, by quoting him as the word of God and 
the word of the Spirit of God. He indorsed the historical 
books of Moses and honored them as from God. He in- 
dorsed the law of Moses, as the law of God, in numerous 
instances and in different forms. He indorsed the principal 
events of the Old Testament, such as the creation, the Ad- 
amic sin and its consequences; the destruction of the world 
by a flood ; the call of Abraham and the promise ; the over- 
throw of Sodom; the fate of the proud monarch of Egypt; 
the liberation of Israel from Egyptian bondage; the giving 
of the law T ; events of Sinai and the sojourn in the wilder- 
ness ; the crossing of Jordan ; entrance into Canaan, etc. 
He indorsed the writings of David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, 
Ezekiel, and Daniel, as well as other prophets, by quoting 
them as divine authority. His numerous quotations of the 
Old Testament, in its various parts, as sacred Scripture, as- 
cribing it to God, to the Spirit of God, etc. ; his many ref- 
erences to the Old Testament writings, settles the question 
of the divine authority with all who believe on Jesus as the 
Christ, the Son of the living God. 

Having thus indorsed the divine authority of the Old 
Testament, he turns to the New. " The words thou gavest 
me I have given them," said he, in his address to the Fa- 
ther. " All authority in heaven and on earth is given to 
me," said he, before he commissioned the apostles. "Go, 
therefore, and disciple all nations," etc. His repeatedly 
meeting with them, talking over all things that had previ- 
ously occurred between him and them, expounding to them 
the Scriptures, eating and drinking with them, giving them 
an opportunity to see him, hear him, handle him, and wit- 
ness his ascension up into heaven ; the endowment of super- 
natural power, after the ascension, and the continuation of 



DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 33 

this wonderful power with them, amounts to a complete in- 
dorsement of the apostles, establishing their divine author- 
ity, and the divine authority of the portion of the Bible 
emanating from them. The work they did, the wonders 
they achieved, and the religious revolution of the civilized 
world that followed them, in view of their native weakness 
and inability in themselves to do any such work, demon- 
strates that the power of God was with them all the time, 
indorsing all they said and did as of divine authority. 

What a grand spectacle to see Him of whom Moses and 
all the prophets wrote, who was dead and is alive; who is 
divine ; who has all authority in heaven and on earth ; in 
whom all the fullness of the Deity resides fully; standing 
between the two Testaments, the Old and the New, extend- 
ing one hand back over Moses and the prophets, fully in- 
dorsing the Old Testament as of divine authority ; and then 
turning to the apostles, and extending the other hand over 
them, and, by indorsing them and accompanying them with 
the most grand and stupendous displays of supernatural 
power, indorsing the New Testament, given by them, as of 
divine authority ! This settles the question of the divine 
authority of the Bible. It is all indorsed by Him, who is 
the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. He has 
gone into heaven, angels, authorities, and powers being 
made subject to him. He is worshiped by all the angels 
in heaven. He shall reign till all his enemies shall be put 
under his feet. To Him every knee shall bow and every 
tongue confess. To His name be honor and power ever- 
lasting. 



SERMON, No. II. 

THEYE.-WHAT MUST MEN BELIETE TO EE SAYED ! 
Text.—" He that believes not shall be condemned."— Makk xvi : 16. 

This terrible utterance of our Lord was spoken when he 
first appeared to his disciples after he rose from the dead. 
It is a fearful utterance when properly considered in its re- 
lations and bearings. Paul says, " Without faith it is impos- 
sible to please God," and again, " He who comes to God must 
believe." Heb. xi : 6. The Lord says, " He who believes 
not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides 
on him." John iii : 35. We learn from Rom. v : 1, that 
justification is by faith. It is a matter of profound gratifi- 
cation, that, in the midst of the confusion, misunderstand- 
ing, and mysticisms of these times, there are some important 
points on which all are agreed. One thing in which all are 
agreed is, that there can be no justification or spiritual life 
without faith. No man can come to God, please God, or be 
accepted of God without faith. AVithout faith, no man can 
be saved from his sins now, nor from eternal condemnation 
in the world to come. The condemnation of heaven rests on 
the man who believes not. This is stated in the Scriptures 
as clearly as language can make it. It is a matter settled 
and agreed to by all who receive the Bible. 

If, then, it is settled, that a man can not be saved unless 
he believes, a question of momentous importance rises. That 

(35) 



36 WHAT .MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 

question is, " What must we believe?" This question con- 
tains the theme for the present discourse. It is useh 
perplex our minds about the question whether justification 
is by faith alone, or by faith and something else combined, 
till we settle the one about what we must believe. This 
lies at the foundation. It is the first matter to be settled. 
We can take no other step correctly, do no other thing 
acceptably, nor please God at all till we believe. Xor is 
the question, What must we believe to become a Quaker, a 
Shaker, a Romanist, a Unitarian, or a Universalist. What 
a man must believe to become one of these, or one of a hun- 
dred more similar to them, is a matter of no consequence 
compared with the question, What must a man believe to 
be justified before God? This is the great question among 
those now agitating the minds of men. Among all the 
beliefs of our time, there is but one through which sinners 
can be justified and saved in the sight of God. Among all 
the questions of our day, there is none of the same im- 
portance with the one, What is the belief without which the 
soul of the sinner can not be saved at all? This is the 
great question. If this can not be settled, and that, too, 
without ground for a doubt, it is useless to proceed to disease 
others. We must live in doubt and die in despair. But, 
thanks to our heavenly Father, it can be settled. By his 
blessing, it shall be settled in this discourse. 

The inquiry is not what it would be well to believe, or 
what it would be better to believe than something else; nor 
what it would be respectable or popular to believe, but what 
is it that a man must believe, or be condemned — lost for- 
ever? 

No doubt, many look on this question as so plain and easy 
that it is useless to discuss it. True, it is so plain that all 
ought to understand it; yet many do not. Many of the 
fashionable and educated, in the highest circles of life, who 



WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 37 

go to and belong to church, could not tell what they believe 
if it were to save them from perdition. A reason why such 
can not tell what they believe is, that they do not believe 
any thing. They are simply non-believers. It is a fact, that 
a large number go into a church, commit themselves to the 
church, without ever reading, or hearing read, the creed, and 
utterly without knowing what is in the creed. It is useless 
for these to talk about faith, their creed, or any other creed. 
They know what church they have joined, but know not 
what is in the creed, or what is the belief of their church. 
Faith has nothing to do with the action of such people. All 
creeds are the same to them. They know nothing of what is 
in any of them. They have started out with the popular 
idea, that "there is good and bad in all churches; that all 
ought to belong to some church, but it is no difference what 
church, 'if the heart is right.'" They have fallen in love 
with some church because of its fine organ, delightful music, 
pleasant minister, fine house, respectable members, or their 
special associates being there, and not on account of any 
creed or any belief, for they know nothing of any creed and 
have no belief. They simply know that they belong to a 
different church from some of their neighbors, but do not 
know what the difference is. They are deceived, thinking 
that they are believers, when they not only believe nothing 
themselves, but do not know what a man should believe to 
become a Christian. 

A Calvinist and an Armenian can not fellowship each 
other, because the one is a Calvinist and the other is an Ar- 
menian. The one holds the five points of Calvinism and the 
other the opposite five points of Armenianism, and they can 
not possibly fellowship each other on account of the differ- 
ence in their faith. But inquire of the Calvinist what the 
five points of Calvinism are, and in nine cases out of ten 
he can not tell. Neither can the Armenian tell what the 



38 WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 

opposite five points of Armenianism are. Yet the one is a 
Calvinist and the other an Armenian ; and, though the one 
does not know what Calvinism is, and the other does not 
know what Armenianism is, the one believes Calvinism and 
the other Armenianism, and they can not fellowship each 
other because their- faith is not alike/ What is the difference 
to them whether it is alike or not, when they do not know 
what it is? This is the case with nine-tenths of the differ- | 
ences of our time. The people immediately connected with 
them do not know what they are, and if they did know, they 
would be none the more certain, on that account, of being 
saved. 

In the commission, the Lord said : " Go into all the world, 
and preach the Gospel to every creature." The Gospel is, 
then, what must be preached. The Lord proceeds : " He 
that believes." He that believes what? He that believes 
the Gospel, certainly. The Gospel, then, is what the Lord i\ 
commanded the apostles to preach, and what hearers were 
required to believe. The amount of it is, then, that the 
Lord commanded the Gospel to be preached, required the 
Gospel to be believed, and declared that he that believes 
not the Gospel shall be condemned. But some man will 
say: "All sorts of preachers profess to preach the Gospel, 
and I see not how to determine which is the Gospel." There 
is a way to test the matter. Does a man claim that he is 
preaching the Gospel when preaching Calvinism? If he 
does, the Lord says: "He that believeth not the Gospel 
shall be condemned." Dare he say: "He that believes not 
Calvinism shall be condemned?" He will not say this. 
Or, to place the matter in a different form, we will look at 
it as follows: 

A man can not be a Christian and not believe the Gospel. 

Calvinists themselves admit that a man can be a Chris- 
tian and not believe Calvinism, for they admit that there 






WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 39 

are Christians among the Armenians, and they do not be- 
lieve Calvinism. 

Therefore, Calvinism is not the Gospel. 

Nothing can be clearer than that if a man can not be a 
Christian and not believe the Gospel, but can be a Chris- 
tian and not believe Calvinism, Calvinism is not the Gos- 
pel, and, consequently, not what a man must believe to avoid 
condemnation. 

This same reasoning may be applied to Armenianism. 

A man can not be a Christian and not believe the Gospel. 

A man can be a Christian and not believe Armenianism, 
as Armenians themselves admit. 

Therefore, Armenianism is not the Gospel, nor what a 
man must believe to avoid condemnation. 

The same rule may be applied to Universalism. 

A man can not be a Christian and not believe the Gospel. 

A man can be a Christian and not believe Universalism, 
as Universalists themselves admit. 

Therefore, Universalism is not the Gospel, or what a man 
must believe to avoid condemnation. 

Some man may say, "Try Campbellism by the same 
rule." There is no need of any trial in this case, for it is 
granted, if there is any such thing, that Campbellism is not 
the Gospel. Whatever may be said of the isms, of which 
an example is here given, and all such, whether true or 
false, they are not the Gospel, nor what a man must believe, 
in order to justification, or what a man must believe, or be 
condemned. Whatever the Lord requires a man to believe, 
it is not any of these isms. Belief in any one of them is 
not what the Lord requires; nor will unbelief in any one 
of them condemn any man. True or false, as mere ques- 
tions, there is no salvation in believing them, nor condem- 
nation in not believing them. 

It is not necessary to pursue this negative examination 



40 WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 

further, or the inquiry touching what a man need not be- 
lieve. The matter now is to determine what a man must 
believe. Among all the beliefs of the world, what belief 
is it through which the sinner is justified before God"? By 
reference to John xx: 30, 31, we learn what he wrote out 
his testimony concerning Christ for. He says : " Many other 
signs truly did Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, which 
are not written in this book ; but these arc written that you 
might believe." This gives the purpose of the apostle in 
writing his book: "These are written that you might be- 
lieve." The next question is, That you might believe what? 
He informs us, " That you might believe that Jesus is the 
Christ, the Son of God" This settles the question about 
what we must believe. We must believe that Jesus is the 
Christ, the Son of God. This is the grand proposition to 
be believed, and the belief of it is the faith that justifies the 
sinner, or through which the Lord saves his soul. Here 
some one may start the question, "Is this saving faith?" 
The apostle proceeds to refer us to the result of this faith, 
in the same connection, in the following words : " That be- 
lieving you might have life through his name" These things 
are written that you might believe. The truth to be be- 
lieved is, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The 
object of this belief is, that the believer might have life 
through the name of Jesus. Here is the grand truth to 
be believed, and the belief of it is the faith through which 
the sinner may have life. This belief is evangelical, divine, 
apostolical — the belief that saves the soul. There is no 
oilier belief or saving faith for sinful man. If he has 
not this, he will be lost. There is no dispute about 
the belief here advocated. No church repudiates it. The 
doubts and disputes are all about other beliefs. If a man 
believes with his heart that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of 
the living God, he has true faith, divine faith, saving faith, 






WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 41 

and there is no other faith through which man can be jus- 
tified before God. 

We can learn something of what a man must believe fron 
what he is to confess with his mouth. "We will now hea 
Paul tell, in the same connection, what a man must confes 
with his mouth and believe from his heart : " If tliou shal 
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in titrj 
heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be 
saved : for with the heart man believes unto righteousness 
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 
Rom. x: 8, 9. To believe that "God raised Jesus fror 
the dead " is the same as to believe that he is the Christ 
the Son of the living God; for if God raised him from thf 
dead, he thus demonstrated that all he ever said was true, 
God would not have raised an impostor. If God raised hir 
from the dead, he thus confirmed his divine mission and a : 
he ever said. His entire claim to be the Messiah, or to V 
from God, is confirmed, if God raised him from the dea( 
Indeed, if he rose from the dead at all, it proves his divii; 
mission. An impostor could not have raised himself fror 
the dead. God would not have raised him, and thus hav 
aided him in palming an imposition on the world. The 
belief, then, with the whole heart, that God raised him 
amounts to the same as the belief that he is the Christ, tht 
Son of the living God. 

But we will give an example showing the faith on which 
persons were received in the time of the apostles. Turn 
your attention to Philip and the Ethiopian officer as they 
ride in the chariot. Philip is busily engaged in preaching 
to the officer. What is he preaching? The sacred historiai 
says " He preached to him Jesus." That is certainly a ver; 
brief history of what he was preaching, but equally plain 
It is certainly what might be expected, that the officer be- 
lieved what was preached. What did he believe, then ? Th< 
4 



42 WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 

sacred writer says, "As they went on their way, they came 
to a certain water." We will not stop now to speculate 
about that "certain water." Water is not the theme now; 
faith is the theme. What did the officer believe ? This 
is the matter in hand. The officer said, "See; here is 
water! what doth hinder me to be immersed?" And 
Philip answered, "If you believe with all your heart, 
you may." And he answered and said, " I believe that 
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God." See Acts viii : 36, 
37, 38. On this belief the evangelist received and im- 
mersed him ; and on this belief all the first converts were 
received and immersed. If this passage is rejected as 
spurious, we lose nothing but an example. The weight 
of authority, however, is in its favor, and the thread of 
the narrative is incomplete without it. It is, therefore, 
received here. 

When our Lord was immersed by John in Jordan, and 
had gone up from the water, the heavens were parted above 
him, and the Spirit assumed a visible form, and descended 
On him. John the Immerser afterward referred to this, 
saying, "I. knew him not, but he who sent me to immerse, 
said, on whomsoever you shall see the Holy Spirit descend- 
ing and remaining, he is he," or he is the Messiah. At the 
time the Spirit descended and rested on him, the Almighty 
Father spake from the heavens, and uttered an oracle that 
he did not see fit to utter through the lips of man, angel, 
or even his own beloved Son, but, with his own voice, he 
said, " This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well 
pleased." See Matt, iii : 17. 

Again, in the midst of that transccndantly sublime scene, 
on the mountain of transfiguration, in the presence of the 
glorified and immortalized Elijah, from the eternal state; the 
mediator of the first covenant, Moses, from the intermediate 
state; and three witnesses of Jesus, Peter, James, and John, 






WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 43 

in the flesh ; God again repeated the oracle, " This is my 
Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased;" adding to 
this utterance, made on the former occasion, the command, 
"Hear you him." To this grand scene Peter refers, in 
one of his letters to the disciples, in his authoritative dec- 
laration: "We have not followed cunningly-devised fables 
when we made known to you the power and coming of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty. 
For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when 
there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, 
This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased." 
See 2 Pet. i: 16. 

It was in view of this wonderful oracle, that Peter, when 
the Lord said "Whom do you say that I the Son of Man 
am ? " replied, " Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living 
God." Matt, xvi : 16. In this instance, too, we have the 
importance of this fundamental truth fully brought out. 
The Lord replies, "Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jona: 
for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my 
Father who is in heaven." What is it the Father in 
heaven has revealed ? The foundation truth of the new 
institution. This the Father in heaven revealed on the 
banks of the Jordan. This central truth — the major pro- 
position of the new institution — that " Jesus is the Christ, 
the Son of the living God," is here uttered by Peter and 
again repeated in the mountain of transfiguration. But 
now for the prominence which the Lord gives this truth. 
He proceeds in his reply to Peter : " You are Peter, and 
on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of 
Hades shall not prevail against it." Here the fundamental 
heresy of Pome had its origin. It perverts this grand truth 
of the new institution in two important particulars : 1. It 
expounds the rock on which the Church is built to be Peter. 
2. It expounds the meaning of the words "the gates of 



44 WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 

Hades shall not prevail against it," to be, that " the gates of 
Hades shall not prevail against the Church." By " this rock," 
the Lord did not mean Peter. Peter was not the theme, but 
the person to whom the Lord addressed himself on the 
theme. What was the theme of the conversation ? The 
Lord himself was the theme, and not Peter. "Whom do 
you say that I am?" "Thou art the Christ, the Son of 
the living God." " Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jona : 
for flesh and blood has not revealed it" or this. " It," or 
this what? This confession, unquestionably, which Peter 
has just made, that "he was the Christ, the Son of the liv- 
ing God." " And," he proceeds, " on this rock I will build 
my Church." Where is the antecedent to "this rock?" 
The theme is not changed. " This," refers back to the same 
statement, " Thou art the Christ." On this truth, con- 
cerning Jesus, that he is "the Christ, the Son of the living 
God, I will build my Church," and " the gates of Hades shall 
not prevail against it." Against what? Against this truth, 
or this rock, and not the Church. The theme is not the 
Church, but the truth, on which it is built. The gates of 
Hades have nothing to do with prevailing against the Church. 
But the Lord knew that he would die, and go into Hades, 
and that he would have to overcome the gates, or powers 
of Hades, and rise from the dead, or the foundation of 
the Church, that "he is the Christ, the Son of the living 
God," would be overthrown. His prediction is an assurance 
that the powers of Hades should not prevent his resurrec- 
tion, and thus prevail against the foundation of the new 
institution. It was an allusion to the grand contest in- 
volved in his resurrection from the dead. The issue is 
over his resurrection. He was put to death. His body 
was laid in the grave. His soul went to Paradise, an apart- 
ment in Hades. At the dawn of light, on the third day, 
the grand question came: will he rise, or will the powers of 






WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 45 

Hades prevail ? If he rises, the proposition that " he is the 
Christ, the Son of the living God," is sustained. If he does 
not rise, it is lost. All is suspended on this issue. To this 
grand issue he looked, and declared " the gates of Hades shall 
not prevail against it," — the rock, or foundation. 

In this light Paul viewed it, in his reference to those 
disciples in Corinth, who had fallen back into their Sadduce- 
anism and denied the resurrection of the dead. 1 Cor. xv : 
12, he puts the question, "How say some among you that 
there is no resurrection of the dead?" He then proceeds 
to show them that every thing rests on the resurrection of 
the dead, by bringing to their view the consequences of their 
denial of the resurrection, or rather the result, if there is no 
resurrection. He mentions these results as follows : 

Result 1. Christ is not risen. Certainly this is correct if 
there is no resurrection. 

Result 2. The apostle's preaching is vain. If Christ 
did not rise, the preaching, that he did rise, is false. 

Result 3. Their faith is vain. They believed what was 
preached, that Christ rose. If he did not rise, they believed 
a falsehood. This faith is vain. It could not save them. 

Result 4. The apostles were false witnesses, for they tes- 
tified that he did rise, and that they saw him after he rose 
from the dead. 

Result 5. They were yet in their sins. They could not 
have been justified from their sins by the belief of a false- 
hood. 

Result 6. Those fallen asleep in Christ are perished, or 
lost. Their faith, being the belief of a falsehood, that God 
raised Christ, whom he did not raise if the dead rise not, 
could not save thorn, and they are lost. 

Result 7. We, the apostles, of all men are the most mis- 
erable, for we have given up this world — suffered the loss 
of all things for Christ ; but if the dead rise not all is lost. 



46 WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 

After thus showing them where they placed themselves, 
in denying the resurrection from the dead, he comes out in 
the following triumphant language : " But now is Christ 
risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them 
that slept." If he rose from the dead, the preaching of the 
apostles, that he did rise, is true ; the belief of that preach- 
ing is the belief of the truth ; the apostles were true wit- 
nesses, in testifying that God raised him ; by this faith they 
were justified ; those who had fallen asleep in Christ had not 
perished, and the apostles were not of all men most miser- 
able. Thus we see how beautifully he rests every thing on 
the great truth. 

Please turn to Paul's opening address, in the Athenian 
court, in the presence of distinguished jurists, statesmen, and 
philosophers, as found in Acts xvii : 30 : " And the times of 
this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men 
everywhere to repent." The times of ignorance to which 
he alluded were before the Gospel came, and the " now," 
that he brings in contrast with these times of ignorance is 
since the light of the Gospel has come. Now, since the Lord 
has come, the light of the Gospel is extended to the nations 
of the earth — he commands all men everywhere to repent. 
Paul knew that this was a pretty broad affirmation, and the 
men before him were not prepared to receive it on his simple 
statement, and he quickly follows it with the reason for the 
command for all men everywhere to repent : " Because he 
has appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world 
in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained." Still, 
he knew that they would follow immediately to demand the 
proof of that also, and he instantly adds : "Whereof he has 
given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from 
the dead." In raising Christ from the dead, God has given 
assurance to all men that he will judge the world in right- 
eousness, and he commands all men everywhere to repent, 



WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE Sx\.VED? 47 

because he will judge the world in righteousness. This is not 
foreign nor difficult reasoning. If God raised Jesus from 
the dead he is divine. If he is divine, all he said is true. 
All he promised or threatened will be fulfilled. The resurrec- 
tion of Jesus is the foundation of the whole spiritual system, 
revealed to the world through Christ. This foundation must 
be overthrown before the Christian's faith can be shaken. 

It is of no consequence whether we can explain the ques- 
tions where Cain got his wife, why the Canaanites and the 
Midianites were commanded to be destroyed, why God hard- 
ened Pharaoh, or how the additions were made to the books 
of Moses after he was dead, etc. These matters, and numer- 
ous others of the same kind, introduced by Tom Paine, in 
his infidel book, may all be explained, and the difficulty ex- 
isting in the minds of unbelieving men may grow out of 
their ignorance. One tolerably clear evidence of this is found 
in the fact, that the men who have studied the Bible most 
closely and critically, find the least trouble about these mat- 
ters. Why have not the great and profound men, who have 
studied antiquity a life-time, searched the quotations in ancient 
writings, carefully read and compared the oldest manuscripts, 
read all the principal histories — Jewish, pagan, infidel, and 
Christian — stumbled and fell over these difficulties ? Because 
they have found clear and satisfactory solutions of many of 
them, which leads intelligent people rationally to conclude 
that if they knew more they could solve all these supposed 
difficulties. True, it is well for a Christian man to examine 
and explain these matters as far as he can. Still, his faith 
does not rest on these matters. It rests on something more 
certain. 

The man of understanding begins with Jesus. Whose 
son is he? What think you of him? Is he the Alpha and 
Omega — the beginning and the ending — the resurrection 
and the life? Did he speak the truth when he said, "He 



48 WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 

who sees me sees the Father," and " before Abraham was, I 
am ? " That " he was before all things, and by him all 
things consist?" That "it was by him, and for him, that 
the worlds were made?" That " in him dwells all the full- 
ness of the Godhead bodily ?" In a word, is all that is said 
of him in the Bible true?" It is, if God raised him from 
the dead. It is all true, if he is the Christ, the Son of the 
living God. When this is received with the whole heart, 
or without any dissent, we have found an anchorage. We 
turn to him, in the language of one of old, " Thou knowest 
all things." We inquire of him about Moses, Abraham, 
and the prophets, and find him quoting their language as 
the Word of God. This ends all questions about the Old 
Testament writings. We see him commission and send out 
the apostles, and thus indorse them. This settles their au- 
thority. He is the chief corner-stone — the foundation. The 
prophets and the apostles rest on him. The Old Testament 
and the New rest on him. The salvation of the world rests 
on him. He is the tried stone, chosen of God, and precious; 
though rejected by Jewish and infidel builders, he is made 
the head of the corner, and there is no other name under 
heaven nor among men by whom we can be saved. He 
is Lord of all, head over all things to the Church. He 
was dead, but is alive, and lives for evermore. He has the 
keys of Hades and of Death ; can open, and no man can shut, 
can shut, and no man can open. He has gone into heaven; 
angels, authorities, and powers being put in subjection to 
him. All authority in heaven and on earth is given to him. 
says, " I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men to me." 
And again he says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the 
life: no man comes to the Father but by me." Converts 
must then be made to him, learn of him, and follow him. 
Implicitly we should receive what he says, because it comes 
from him. 



WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 49 

There is a large amount of unscriptural language used in 
our time, and which has no foundation in correct principles. 
Hence, we hear people say they believe in prayer, baptism, 
communion, etc., but this is not sensible. The faith is not 
in or does not rest on baptism, prayer, or the Lord's Supper, 
etc., but on Christ. The entire belief is on him. Men are 
baptized, not because they believe in baptism, but because 
they believe on him who commanded baptism. We do not 
believe commandments, nor believe on them, but obey them. 
We believe on Christ, obey his commands to be immersed, 
to pray, commune, etc., and hope for the things which he 
promises. He is the foundation of all authority in the 
kingdom. The man who believes on him, receives him, 
and obeys him, is moved by his divine authority to do all 
he does in religion. He is the central idea in the new in- 
stitution. 

Every system in the world has a central point in it. 
The foundation proposition, on which every thing rests in 
Mormon ism, is that Joseph Smith was a prophet from God. 
The' man who believes this is a Mormon. It is the major 
proposition of Mormonism, and has all the minor ones in 
it; or, in one word, has all Mormonism in it. The prop- 
osition that Emanuel Swedenborg was a divine prophet has 
all Swedenborgianism in it. The central idea in the Bap- 
tist church is baptism. The church takes its name from 
baptism, rallies round it, and makes it the central idea. 
The central idea in the Presbyterian church is government 
by a presbytery, and the church is named after this one idea. 
The central idea in the kingdom of God is the living and 
glorious person of the Lord from heaven. The faith of the 
saints rests on him, and all their life, light, and joy are from 
him. He is brought to man in the proposition, that he is 
the Christ, the Son of the living God. All Christianity 
centers and embodies itself in him, as a man's whole polit- 
5 



50 WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 

ical creed embodies and centers itself in his favorite candidate. 
When he goes for the candidate, he goes for his political creed 
and party, whether he understands it or not. So, when a 
man believes on the Savior, goes for him, and devotes him- 
self to him, he goes for all he taught, whether he understands 
it or not. He is then a Christian — a disciple of Christ, and 
nothing else. It is the concentration, the embodiment 
of all Christianity in a person, a living and glorious per- 
son. 

Any one, with a grain of reflection, can see the wisdom 
of this. In what other way could ignorant and prejudiced 
Jews and pagans have been proselyted in a single day? 
How could they have been discipled to Calvinism, Arme- 
nianism, Unitariauism, or Trinitarianism in a day? What 
could they have done with the Xicene creed — the Augsburg, 
the Westminster, or Philadelphia confession, in hearing one 
discourse? It requires years to indoctrinate a man in the 
twenty-five articles of Methodism, or the thirty-nine of Epis- 
copalianism. The result is, that a large number never know 
what the Church believes, but every one must understand 
the belief which God requires, and must have that belief 
himself, for "he that believes not shall be condemned." The 
Lord has, therefore, embodied the belief in a living and glo- 
rious person, and demands of all men that they believe on 
him, as the grand and glorious concentration of all that is 
divine. Hence, on Pentecost, on hearing one Gospel dis- 
course, three thousand believed and became Christian- in 
one day. Nor did they join Church without believing, or 
knowing what they were doing. They learned what to be- 
lieve on hearing one discourse, and believed it. They were 
justified by faith, and not received without faith. They be- 
lieved what was preached — that God had raised Jesus from 
the dead — that God was with him — that he was divine, and 
they willingly bowed their souls to him, and took him for 



WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 51 

their leader; gladly and implicitly received all he taught, 
and did all he commanded. On becoming his disciples, 
they placed themselves under him, as his pupils, students, 
learners, to be taught by him, and guided to the everlasting 
city of our God. 

The time has now come when this belief is thought not 
sufficient; that a man must believe something more than 
this ; that if he knows nothing but Christ and him crucified, 
and specially determines to know nothing more than this — 
will glory in nothing but the Cross of Christ, he falls vastly 
short, much below the standard of our times. The popular 
tendency is to take the mind and heart of the people away 
from Christ and occupy it with something more, or some- 
thing else. The time was in this country, when the popular 
teachers expressed fears that we did not make enough of the 
Messiah, and they talked of his divinity, his equality with 
the Father, his eternity, and the like ; but what do they now 
think of him who has all authority in heaven and on earth ; 
the chief among all the ten thousands, and altogether lovely? 
They treat the belief on him, and those that have that belief, 
as unworthy of regard and fellowship. Talk to them about 
uniting on him, following him, believing all he taught, re- 
ceiving it into good and honest hearts, obeying him im- 
plicitly in all things, and hoping for all he promised, and 
they stand and look on you with amazement, and affect to 
pray for you as one deluded. But the Lord Jesus is the 
power in this work, and the men who oppose it must be 
shown that they stand in exact antagonism to him. "If 
any man loves not the Lord Jesus Christ, he will be ac- 
cursed." He is the grand center, and in him men must 
be united and saved if they are ever united and saved at 
all. 

The authority of men should be set aside and destroyed, 
and the authority of Jesus restored to the people. The 



52 WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 

philosophies, metaphysics, and speculations of designing 
men must be set aside, and the clear, intelligible, and glo- 
rious teaching of Christ and his apostles restored to men. 
There must be a clear issue made between Christ and all hu- 
man leaders, between his teaching and all human teaching, 
between his kingdom and all other kingdoms. There must 
be no question in the minds of men except about Jesus and 
his salvation, no issue except between the sinner's soul and 
Jesus. There must be no question about the theories and 
speculations of men. There is but one issue, and that one 
is concerning Christ. Shall I believe on him ? Shall I re- 
ceive him as my teacher, leader, and head ? Shall I follow 
him '? Shall I bow my soul to him ? obey him ? Shall I be 
his disciple '? These are the questions with which the world 
must be pressed. The great work of the preacher is not to 
defend himself, his views, or theories, but to defend his Mas- 
ter, Lord, and Redeemer, his cause and kingdom. His work 
is to lift up his Lord before men, and plead with them to be- 
lieve on him, trust in him, learn of him, follow and honor 
him. 

The work of all the preachers of Christ is the same. 
They all have the same Lord over all, blessed forever and 
ever. They all have the same Gospel. The man who can 
understand it most fully, enforce it most successfully, and 
bring the largest number under its hallowed power, and 
make the most friends to the Lord Jesus, is the best preacher. 
The main work now to be done is to divorce the people from 
the rudiments of the world, from the doctrine- and com- 
mandments of men, from priestcraft, error, superstition, and 
human traditions, and espouse them to Christ; turn their 
hearts from men to the Savior, from the love of party to 
the love of union, from party fellowship to the fellowship 
of the saints. The problems now to be solved are, Can we 
teach men to love the Savior more than all other leaders: 



WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 53 

to love his teaching more than all other teaching ; to for- 
sake all other leaders and follow him? Is it possible, after 
the long night of darkness, superstition, and error, in which 
the people have been trained, to restore to their hearts confi- 
dence in the Savior of the world, and in his infallible teach- 
ing to save men ? Can the hearts of the people be won back 
to the Lord? These are the grand questions now to be 
tested. 

An immense army is now in the field, with no mission 
but to push the conquests of King Jesus. They have no 
cause nor conquests of their own to defend. They have no 
leader but Jesus. Their war is about their great Leader and 
Head. They are pressing him on the attention of men 
everywhere. They maintain that every man is for or against 
him, and call on men as they value their lives, their souls, 
and their eternal all, to decide whether they are for the 
Lord or against him ; whether they will have Jesus for their 
leader or not ; whether they will have the teaching of Christ 
and the apostles or not. They intend, by the favor of God, 
to push the teaching of Christ and his authority through 
the world. They are narrowing the controversy down and 
bringing it to a single point. It is Jesus and his teaching. 
They are for nothing else. Those opposed to Jesus and his 
teaching are their opponents, and no others. 

They have the faith in God, that he will strengthen their 
hands and sustain them in their great work of restoring, in 
all its fullness, the authority of the Christ, his pure worship, 
his teaching, and all things as they were at the first, and 
unite in him, who is all in all, to live in one grand and 
harmonious fellowship, to keep the unity of the Spirit in 
the bond of peace, in the one body, one Spirit, one hope, 
one Lord, one faith, one immersion, and one God and Father 
of all, above all, through all, and in all, that one triumphant 



54 WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 

hallelujah may rise, as a precious incense, to him that lives 
forever and ever. 

Then, when we shall have finished our course and lie 
down on the bed of death, we can rest on his blessed 
words : " As I live, you shall also live." " I will never 
leave you nor forsake you." "I am able to keep you 
from falling." "None can pluck you out of my hand." 
"Be faithful till death." And again, "He who endures 
to the end shall be saved." 

But, before closing, attention must be given to such as 
are aliens, foreigners, and strangers, without God, and with- 
out hope, in the midst of all the uncertainties of this world. 
These are separated from the Lord, living as if they did not 
believe he existed. They have never even sanctified their 
lips by confessing his name, nor made a solitary effort to 
obtain his mercy. In one moment all possibility of their 
being saved might be cut off forever. They might go away 
into the outer darkness, with all the foul, the corrupt, de- 
graded, and disgraced spirits that inhabit the regions of 
darkness and despair. They may then look back, think 
of their folly, their indifference, their hardness of heart, their 
impenitence, when mercy's sweet voice, in tones of affection, 
love, and compassion — in kind invitations, heart-felt plead- 
ings, and entreaties with tears — all failed to bring them to 
the Lord. They may then think of the Cross, the crown 
of thorns, his writhings, struggles in death, his expiring, 
the Roman spear, and his blood as it ran down, in crimson 
streams, to the ground, and believe it to be an infinite exhi- 
bition of divine compassion, and inquire : Why did all this 
fail to reach my hardened heart? They may then call to 
mind all the precious invitations of the Savior, the apos- 
tles, the preachers of their own time ; the reasonings, ex- 
postulations, and arguments j the prayers and tears, the 



WPIAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 55 

solicitudes and anxieties of fathers, mothers, brothers, sis- 
ters, children, and friends — all expended on a hard and 
ungrateful heart, and yet it lost forever! The harvest is 
past — the summer is ended! The soul is lost. No more 
lovely invitations forever ! no more entreaties to turn to 
the Lord! no more grace, nor mercy, nor compassion. The 
day of grace is gone forever ! the door of mercy is forever 
closed ! 

O man! who will you blame for all this? God loved 
you ; Jesus died for you ; the Gospel was preached to you ; 
the saints loved you, prayed for you, wept over you; the 
Spirit of God said " Come ; M the Bride, the Church, said 
"Come;" and whoever will was invited to come. God was 
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come 
to repentance. The Savior said, "He who comes to me, I 
will in nowise cast out." You did not come! You resisted 
all the love, grace, and mercy of our kind and gracious Fa- 
ther in heaven; you resisted the Savior of the world and 
all the entreaties of the best friends you had on earth, and 
rushed down to ruin. You will have to say: "I have done 
all this myself; I have pulled down ruin on my own head. 
Against the will of my gracious and most merciful Creator, 
all his love, kind entreaties, and expostulations; against all 
the advice, warnings, and persuasions of the truest and best 
friends I ever had; against the voice of reason, my own 
judgment, and revelation, I have persisted and done all 
this ! Against all that was good, and pure, and lovely, I 
persisted, rushed blindly on and down, till I have landed 
in bottomless perdition. Let others be warned not to come 
to this place of torment." 

Be entreated, then, by all that is good, and pure, and 
lovely ; by the love of Christ, the mercy of God, and the 
sufferings of the Savior; be warned by the threatenings of 



56 WHAT MUST MEN BELIEVE TO BE SAVED? 

heaven, the terrors of the Lord, and the danger of being 
lost forever, to turn to the Lord and live; be persuaded by 

the tender mercies of our God, by all his goodness, by the 
value of the unfading heavens, and the value of precious 
souls yet to come, while it is called to-day, and be happy 
forever and ever. "Behold, now is the accepted time; be- 
hold, now is the day of salvation." 



SERMON, No. III. 

THE1TE.-H0W ARE PERSONS HADE BELIEVERS? 

Text.—" Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."— 
Romans x : 17. 

This text is selected because it expresses the general theme 
for this discourse, which is, How are persons made believers? 
The question has been settled as to what persons should be- 
lieve to become Christians, or disciples of Christ, in the fore- 
going discourse. The purpose, in this discourse, is to settle 
the question as to hoiv persons are made believers. What 
means does our Heavenly Father employ to induce men and 
women to believe on Christ as the Savior of the world ? There 
are two theories about this, so widely different, that if either 
one of them is right the other is wrong. One of these theories 
asserts that God puts forth an immediate power, or influence 
of his Spirit from himself, or a direct influence to the soul 
of the unbeliever, and makes him a believer. The other 
theory asserts that God puts forth his power or influence 
through Christ, the apostles, through the Holy Spirit that was 
in and inspired the apostles, and through the Gospel preached 
by the apostles, and makes believers. These two theories 
are wholly irreconcilable. If the one is correct, the other 
is a delusion, a deception, a cheat. It is useless to talk of 
charity. Charity may extend to erring people in kind- 
ness, pity, and compassion, but no charity can reconcile two 
theories about the same thing so different, as that God makes 

(57) 



58 HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 

believers by an immediate influence, and that he doe- it by a 
mediate influence. If this work of making a believer is done 
in one of these ways, it is not done in the other way. This 
is self-evident. 

But now, the question arises, how is this matter to L< 
tied ? To what can an appeal be made as authority to set- 
tle it? Shall the case be referred to the man who says, "I 
know the time and place when the immediate power came, 
took effect on my heart, and made me a believer. I was not 
reading the word nor hearing the Gospel, and I know that 
I was made a believer by the immediate power." If the 
question is to be left to such a man as this, it is useless to 
continue this discourse. There are many men who will tes- 
tify the same as this man ; but if such testimony is to be 
regarded, Mormonism, Quakerism, Shakerism, or any other 
imposture ever imposed on credulous man, can be proved, 
for they all have any amount of witnesses of the same kind. 
These witnesses care not what the Bible says, what the Lord 
or the apostles have said. They refer you to what they have 
experienced, but in their case you have nothing but the testi- 
mony of their tongues. They will not be regarded in this 
discourse, nor any witnesses, except such as the Lord has 
shown to be his witnesses, by the most awful, grand, and 
sublime displays of supernatural power ever addressed to 
the senses of mortal man. The subject will be treated exclu- 
sively for those who believe the Bible. Those who do not be- 
lieve the Bible will be addressed in another discourse. The 
Bible is the supreme authority, and the writer will proceed 
as if every reader believed and regarded it. Indeed, lie will, 
for the time being, assume that every person reading after 
him believes and regards it. 

Let there be a clear understanding, then, at the start. The 
question is not whether God makes believers. We all ad- 
mit that God makes believers. The question is not whether 



HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 59 

he makes believers by the Holy Spirit. We all admit that 
God makes believers by the Holy Spirit. Nor is it whether 
he does it by his power. We all admit that God makes 
believers by the Holy Spirit and by his power. But does 
he put forth his power through Christ, through the apos- 
tles, through the Spirit in the apostles, through the Gospel 
preached by the apostles ? Or does he put forth his power 
or influence to make believers, immediately from himself to 
the soul of the sinner, not through Christ, nor through the 
apostles, nor the word ? This is the question to be settled 
by Scripture. 

The first scripture introduced will be found Acts xi : 14. 
It is the language of an angel of God to Cornelius, a cen- 
turion, of the Italian band. The angel commanded Cor- 
nelius to send for Peter, adding, that " when he is come, he 
shall tell you words whereby you and your house shall be 
saved." The particular point in this language, to which 
special attention is invited, is that Cornelius and his house 
were to be saved by words, and not without words. Any 
theory proposing to make believers and save men without 
words can not be received, while the Lord's system, in which 
men are saved by words, is regarded. The question is not 
whether the Lord can save men without words, but whether 
he does in the system revealed in the Bible. The angel says 
by words, and let him who says without words bring his 
proof. 

The next scripture introduced is found Matt. xiii. It is 
our Lord's teaching in the parable of the sower. It is a 
mercy on us that the Lord explained this parable, as the 
people of our time would most likely never have found the 
meaning of it. He says, " Some seed fell by the way-side," 
some " fell on stony places," some " fell among thorns," and 
"other seed fell on good ground." The first thing is to 
determine what the "seed" in this parable stands for, or 



60 HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 

represents. This the Lord explains — not in learned and 
difficult terms, but in the most laconic, explicit, and simple 
terms: "The seed is the word of God." Any human be- 
ing, with intelligence enough to be accountable, can under- 
stand, that the seed of the kingdom is the word of God. 
All the products of the kingdom spring from the seed of 
the kingdom, under the divine blessing. Xo matter how 
rich your ground, nor how wide you prepare it, nor how 
honest you labor, you can not raise wheat nor corn with- 
out seed ; no matter how good the ground, how honestly 
you labor, nor how much the Lord blesses you with rains, 
sunshine, and a genial season, you must have the seed. It 
is indispensable. In the same way, in the kingdom, we 
must have the seed of the kingdom, or we can not have 
the products of the kingdom. Faith is the very first pro- 
duct of the kingdom, and you can not have it without the 
seed of the kingdom, the word of God. Men may theorize 
about faith, the faith of Christ without hearing the Gospel, 
the seed of the kingdom, from which faith comes, but they 
will never have it. As well might men talk of corn, wheat, 
or any other product of the ground, without the seed or- 
dained of God, as to talk of faith without the seed of the 
kingdom, ordained of God to produce faith. Since the Lord 
ascended to heaven, a believer in Christ has not been found 
whose faith did not, directly or indirectly, come from the 
Gospel. 

The next thing in order is the way-side ground. What 
docs it represent? It represents an idle, indifferent, and 
careless hearer, who does not understand the word when he 
hears it. There are such men in all communities. There 
is no such thing as commanding their attention ; they are 
off, and talking about other things, or frequently nothing, 
or, at most, nothing of consequence; they never give any 
thing more than a slight and iudiO'erent hearing to the 



HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 61 

word. Bat when they do this, the Lord says, " Then straight- 
way comes the devil, and catches the w r ord of God out of 
their heart." Do you say "There is no devil?" If you 
do, this discourse is not intended for you ; this discourse is 
intended for, and addressed to such as believe the Bible. 
The Lord says, " Then straightway comes the devil and 
catches away the word." If you do not believe there is a 
devil, you do not believe Jesus, and are a skeptic, and not 
the person to whom this discourse is addressed. When this 
idle hearer, represented by the way-side ground, gives a 
slight hearing to the word, "then straightway comes the 
devil." You inquire, What can his mission be? What 
has roused him and called him up? A man has been 
hearing the word, and his fiendish, malignant, and premed- 
itated design is to defeat the word of God, and thus defeat 
the divine means appointed to make him a believer and 
save him. Hear the Lord describe his work in his own 
inimitable style : " Then straightway comes the devil and 
catches away the word." Why does he catch away the 
word out of his heart ? The Lord answers, " Lest he 
should believe and be saved." See Luke viii: 12. This 
shows that the word of God is the seed; that it is sown in 
the heart, that men should believe it and be saved ; that the 
devil understands this work, and w T hen the seed is sown in 
a man's heart, he comes and catches it away out of his heart, 
lest he should believe and be saved. 

What does the thorny ground stand for, or repiesent, in 
this parable? It represents a hearer, not so hard as the one 
just described, but one that hears the word with pleasure 
at first, and then finds that he will suffer persecution, and 
j "straightway becomes offended because of the word." He 
yields the word — gives it up. This is the end of the mat- 
ter with him. You need not follow him, expecting to find 
where some immediate power made him a believer, converted 



62 HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 

him, made him a Christian, and saved him, after he had be- 
come offended because of the word, and turned his ear away 
from it. There is no power that the Lord brings to bear 
on men who turn their ear away from the Gospel, and will 
not hear it, that converts them and saves them without the 
word. " He that turns away his ear from hearing the law, 
even his prayer shall be abomination." See Prov. xxviii: 9. 

What does the thorny ground represent ? It represents a 
hearer not so bad as either of those of which mention has been 
made ; it represents a man who receives the word with pleas- 
ure at first, is delighted with it and happy, but subsequently 
is drawn into some of the business operations of the world — 
banking, merchandizing, stock -trading, etc., and whose whole 
mind and heart are literally overwhelmed in the affairs of 
this life ; and the Lord says, " The cares of this world and 
the deceitfulness of riches choke the word out of his heart." 
Here you may bid adieu to his professions of religion. When 
the word of God is by any means taken away out of a man's 
heart, there is an end to all faith, piety, and devotion to the 
Lord. In every case, the Lord keeps it in view that " the 
good seed," which is the word of God, must not only be sown 
in the heart, but remain in it, or none of the good fruits of 
the kingdom can be brought forth. 

What does the good ground represent ? It represents the 
man who receives the word of God into a good and honest 
heart, understands it, and, as explained in the parallel pas- 
sage in Luke, brings forth much fruit. The good and hxm- 
'est heart is the soil for the good seed, the word of God. This 
is the Lord's method of producing the fruits of the king- 
dom : the good seed, the word of God, sown in good and 
honest hearts. He does not produce these good fruits of 
the kingdom without this good seed of the kingdom, the 
word of God. The Lord does not talk cither of producing 
these good fruits by sowing the seed in a totally depraved 



HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 63 

heart, but in a good, and honest heart. If all men were born 
totally depraved, there could not be in any of them a good 
and honest heart. But instead of all men in an unconverted 
state being totally depraved, and consequently all on one com- 
mon level, the Lord here divides them off into six classes; 
the good ground he divides into three classes. Some of it 
brings thirty fold, some sixty, and some an hundred fold. 
Thirty fold is good, sixty fold is better, and a hundred fold 
best. The thorny ground is bad, the stony ground worse, 
and the way-side worst. Instead, then, of all unregenerate 
men being totally depraved, and, consequently, precisely 
alike, he classifies them in six classes : good, better, and 
best; bad, worse, and worst. Paul makes the same classi- 
fication — 1 Cor. iii : 9-12 — with his illustration of gold, sil- 
ver, precious stones; wood, hay, stubble. Precious stones 
are good material to go into a building to be tried by fire, 
silver is better, and gold is best; wood is bad material, hay 
worse, and stubble worst. This only recognizes what all 
men of intelligence observe : that whatever theories preach- 
ers may advocate, all men are not bad or good alike in an 
unregenerate state, and, consequently, not totally depraved, 
nor so depraved that they can not receive the good seed, 
the word of God, into good and honest hearts, understand 
it, and bring forth fruit to the honor and glory of God. 
The seed of the kingdom is the word of God, and a good 
and honest heart is the soil, of the Lord's own appoint- 
ment, to bring forth the fruits of the kingdom of God. All 
this shows that there is no room for the idle speculation 
that some immediate power or influence must give faith. 
The Son of Man sows, or causes to be sown, the good seed 
of the kingdom, the word of God. This good seed is re- 
ceived into a good and honest heart that understands it, 
and brings forth much fruit. 

This perfectly corresponds with our Lord's quotation from 



64 HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 

the prophet, in the same chapter — Matt, xiii : 13, 14, 1 5 — a By- 
hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand ; and seeing, 
you shall see, and shall not perceive: for this people's heart 
is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their 
eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with 
their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand 
with their heart, and should turn, and I should heal them." 
The trouble with these people, or the reason they were not 
turned to the Lord, was not in some decree the Lord had 
made before the beginning of time, nor that they were so 
depraved that they could not hear nor believe, nor that the 
Lord would not send his power to enable them to believe; 
but the reason was in themselves, in perversity, which they 
could have avoided, but would not. Their heart had groicn, 
or become gross. It was not so created, but had become so. 
Their ears had become dull of hearing. They were not so 
created, nor by inheritance, but had become so. Their eyes 
they had closed. They had done this themselves. It was 
not something in their creation, that they had inherited from 
Adam, or in any decree of God, but an act of their own, done 
for a purpose : " lest they should see with their eyes, hear with 
their ears, understand with their heart and tern, and I should 
heal them." They are themselves blamed for the failure, 
which could not be the case if they were totally depraved 
and could not believe, repent, nor turn to the Lord. 

It is now appropriate that we should have a few clear 
statements of Scripture, showing how persons are made be- 
lievers. The first scripture adduced on this point, will be 
found John xvii : 20 and 21: "I pray not for these alone, 
but for them also who shall believe on me through their 
word." For whom does the Lord pray here? You answer, 
For them who believe. True; but he is more explicit, and 
adds, for " them who shall believe on me through their word." 
If there are those whose faith did not come through their 



i 



HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? (35 

word — the word of the apostles — they are not included in 
this prayer. The Lord did not here pray for them, but for 
those who should believe on him through their word. This 
one passage ought to settle the question as to how faith 
comes with people who believe the Scriptures. 

The apostle John bears the following testimony, John xx : 
30, 31 : " Many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence 
of his disciples, which are not written in this book ; but 
these are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the 
Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have 
life through his name/' Here are three grand questions 
answered: 

1. What are these things written for? That you might 
believe. The apostle here. shows the Lord's plan of making 
believers, or what he has done, that men might believe, or 
to make faith accessible to them, or put it in their power to 
believe. These things are written that you might believe. 

2. What must we believe? That Jesus is the Christ, the 
Son of God. 

3. What is the purpose in our believing that Jesus is the 
Christ, the Son of God ? That we might have life through 
his name. This is the great purpose of our faith, or to 
give us the privilege of life through his name. 

How beautifully the benevolence of God stands out in all 
this. Man can not believe, without the truth to be believed. 
The Lord gives the truth, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son 
of God. This truth can not be believed by man, unless re- 
vealed to him, with the testimony required to make it cred- 
ible. The things in the divine records of testimony given 
by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, concerning Jesus, are 
written that we might believe, and that believing we might 
have life through his name. 

The testimony of Peter is in point here, Acts xv: 7: 
"God made choice among us, that the Gentiles, by my 
6 



66 nOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVES? 

mouth, should hear the word of the Gospel and believe." 
This is as clear as language can express any thing. If it 
was the choice of God, that the Gentiles, by the mouth of 
Peter, should hear the word of the Gospel and believe, it was 
not his choice that they should believe without the word. 

Shall the great apostle to the Gentiles be called to testify 
in the case, as to how faith comes? He says, Rom. x: 17 : 
" So, then, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word 
of God." If he had said, Faith comes by feeling, by an im- 
mediate influence of the Spirit, or by any thing else besides 
hearing, it would have been just as easy to so preach. But 
he settles the question by saying, in so many words, that 
faith comes by hearing. He does not stop at this, but ex- 
plicitly states what we must hear — that it must be the word 
of God. He even reasons the matter out. Please hear him : 
" How, then, shall they call on him in whom they have not 
believed? And how shall they believe on him- of whom 
they have not heard ? And how shall they hear without a 
preacher? And how shall they preach, except they are 
sent?" Rom. x: 14, 15. If the Lord had not called and 
sent the apostles to preach the Gospel, we never could have 
heard it; if we had never heard it, we never could have 
believed it ; if we had never believed it, we could not have 
called on the name. of the Lord, and, consequently, could 
not have been saved. This, then, is a settlement of the 
question of faith coming without the word. 

But some man objects, remarking that it was granted, at 
the outset, that God makes men believers. But he does it 
by means. That is precisely the point under investigation. 
Does he make believers by an immediate influence or power 
from himself, exerted on the heart of the sinner, or does he 
make believers through means? This has been the question 
from the commencement of this discourse. But was it not 
granted, at the outset, that lie makes believers by the Holy 



HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 67 

Spirit ? It was, and without any reservation. He un- 
questionably does it by the Holy Spirit. But can it not 
be that he makes believers through the Gospel and by the 
Holy Spirit? There can be no difficulty in this, for the 
Gospel itself was preached by the Holy Spirit, sent down 
from heaven, which things the angels desired to look into. 
See 1 Pet. i : 12. Paul says of these things, " But God ha? 
revealed them to us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searches 
all things, yes, the deep things of God." See 1 Cor. xi : 10. 
The very same Gospel preached by the apostles, was preached 
also by the Holy Spirit speaking in them. Indeed, it was not 
the apostles that spoke, but the Spirit spoke in them; and 
the person who believed the words which the Holy Spirit 
spoke, certainly was made a believer by the Holy Spirit. 
The Holy Spirit operates on men by words or through 
words. Please attend to a few examples : 

1. "Which things also we speak, not in the worlds which 
man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches." 
See 1 Cor. xi: 13. The Holy Spirit teaches in words, then. 

2. The Lord said to the apostles, Matt, x : 20, " For it is 
not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which 
speaks in you." The Spirit of the Father speaks in the 
apostles, and those who hear his w r ords and believe them, 
are certainly made believers by the Spirit. Many men are 
lauding the Spirit for what they ascribe to him, as a work 
done without words, while they attend not to the words spoken 
by the Spirit. 

3. How did the Spirit operate on Philip to induce him 
to join himself to the chariot ? Acts viii : 29. " The Spirit 
said to Philip, join yourself to this chariot." The Spirit 
said — he uttered words, that were remembered and embod- 
ied in Luke's narrative — "join yourself to this chariot." 
The Spirit, by words, moved him or influenced him to join 
the chariot. 



68 HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 

4. How did the Spirit influence Peter to go down to the 
three messengers from Cornelius when he was on the house- 
top, in Joppa? Luke says, Acts x: 19, "While Peter 
thought on the vision, the Spirit said to him, Behold, three 
men seek you ; rise, therefore, and go down and go with them, 
doubting nothing : for I have sent them." The Spirit op- 
erated on him through words. These words were remem- 
bered by Peter, and reported, so that Luke embraced them 
in his narrative. 

5. Paul says, 1 Tim. iv: 1, "Xow the Spirit speaks ex- 
pressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the 
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and teaching concern- 
ing demons ; speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their con- 
science seared with a hot iron." How is the Spirit said here 
to operate? The Spirit speaks, and not only speaks, but 
" speaks expressly." 

6. Again Paul says, Heb. iii : 7, quoting from the 
Psalms : " Wherefore, as the Holy Spirit says, To-day, if 
you will hear, his voice, harden not your hearts. as in the 
provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness ; 
when your fathers tempted, proved me, and saw my works 
forty years in the wilderness." How did the Holy Spirit 
operate in the time of David ? By iconU: " The Holy Spirit 
Bays." What the Holy Spirit says in this instance is repeated. 
Heb. iv: 7. 

7. Rev. xiv: 13, we have a clear instance of the Spirit 
speaking: " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from 
henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from 
their labors, and their works do follow them." We not only 
have the words, " Yea, says the Spirit," but the precise words 
said. 

8. Among the last words of the book of God, we find 
this: "And the Spirit and the Bride say Come/' See Rev. 
xxii : 17. How does the Bride, or the Church, say Come? 



HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 69 

She says it in words. In the same way the Spirit of God 
says Come. He says it in ivords. 

9. If it is desirable to lengthen out the lists of Scrip- 
ture references, in the second and third chapters of Revela- 
tion the following expression is found seven times : " Hear 
what the Spirit says to .the churches." We are not com- 
manded to feel some impression that the Spirit makes on our 
hearts without ivords, but to hear what the Spirit says. 

Here, then, are some fifteen passages referred to, in which 
it is seen that the Holy Spirit operates through or by words. 
In this class of scriptures it is also clearly shown that the 
Gospel, preached by the apostles, was not in their ivords, but 
in the words of the Holy Spirit. The influence or power, then, 
of these words of the Holy Spirit is the influence or power 
of the Holy Spirit, and the man made a believer by these 
words of the Spirit, is made a believer by the Holy Spirit. 
This is simply intuitively clear and certain. Horn, i : 16, 
we are taught by Paul that the Gospel is the power of God 
to salvation to every one that believes, both to the Jew and 
also to the Greek. It is not power of God, a power of God, 
or one of his powers to salvation, but the power or influence 
of God for salvation, not to some, but to every one that be- 
lieves. That is, all that are saved at all. The power or 
influence of God for salvation is the power or influence 
of Christ, and also the power or influence of the Holy 
Spirit. God does not exercise one power or influence, 
the Savior another, and the Holy Spirit another ; but the in- 
fluence or power of God is also the influence of Christ and 
of the Holy Spirit. There is one power or influence of God, 
Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the apostles. That one in- 
fluence God puts forth through Christ, through the Holy 
Spirit in the apostles, through the apostles, and through the 
word, to make believers, and turn them to God. The man 
who yields to that one influence, and is led by it, yields to 



iU HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 

and is led by the power or influence of God, Christ, the 
Holy Spirit, the apostles, and the word; and the man who 
turns his ear away from and resists that one influence, turns 
his ear away from and resists God," Christ, the Holy Spirit, 
the apostles, and the Gospel, and will certainly be lost. He 
turns his ear away from and resists the power of God for 
salvation. Kb matter if he does say he believes in the im- 
mediate power ; no matter if he does really believe in the im- 
mediate, converting power; that is not mentioned in the 
w r ord of God, and there is not one particle of authority for 
looking for it. The Gospel is the power of God to salva- 
tion to every one that believes. 

But when we are talking of " converting power or influ- 
ence," what is the precise meaning? Some kinds of power 
or influence will take effect on you, if you are placed in 
range, whether you understand any thing about them or not. 
If you place yourself in the cold, it will take effect on you 
whether you know any thing about it or not. The same is 
true of heat. If you come in contact with an electric bat- 
tery, no matter whether you know any thing about it or not, 
you will be shocked. The same is true of the influence of 
contagion. But these all take effect on the body, the flesh, 
and blood. The influence or power is rather, and to some 
extent, mysterious, and we may not be able to know pre- 
cisely how it takes effect; but we know it does not come 
through the mind or understanding to the system, but 
through the system to the mind. But spiritual influence 
or power does not take effect in # the flesh and blood, or in 
the physical man, only as it does it through the under- 
standing. Put a man in an assembly where the greatest 
spiritual impressions ever made exists, blind and deaf, and 
the power or influence will take no effect on him. But 
electricity will take effect on him as readily as those who see 
and hear. Gravitation takes effect on him ; so does pesti- 



HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 71 

lence, heat, and cold. The reason is, that these latter affect 
the body only — the mere animal man. But the power of 
God for salvation is spiritual, and relates, not to the ani- 
mal, but to the spiritual man. 

The intangible and almost unintelligible idea that some 
appear to have in reference to this matter is, that in order 
to conversion a man must place himself in a favorable posi- 
tion, make himself passive, and, " in the Lord's own good 
time," the power will come, make him a believer, and con- 
vert him. On this same intangible and unintelligible vague 
idea, modern Spiritualists have grafted the theory that, by 
sitting in circles, holding each other's hands, and becom- 
ing passive, the spirits will communicate with them. These 
deluded men have already gone into some of the most ro- 
mantic, vague, and ridiculous absurdities ever known among 
intelligent and accountable beings. But spiritual power or 
influence does not take effect in the flesh and blood, but in 
the spirit. It is not a subtle influence, that is felt in the 
flesh, like electricity, cold, or heat, and that does not come 
through the mind. It is not a subtle influence, that you 
sit and watch for, as a Quaker preacher watching for the 
spirit to move him to speak, and that manifests itself first 
by some strange sensation in the flesh, or some queer feel- 
ing. The power of God to make believers and save men 
does not take effect in the flesh of men, but in the spirit. 
It is spiritual power, put forth in spiritual intelligence, to 
the human understanding. 

As the intention is here to develop and discuss the sub- 
ject pretty thoroughly, the inquiry may be put as follows: 
Is the power that God exercises in making believers, and 
turning men to God, the 'power of intelligence addressed to the 
human understanding? Or, is it a subtle poiver of the Spirit, 
immediately from God, that takes effect on man, as heat, cold, 
or electricity, not in words, addressed to the human under- 



72 HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 

standing, that makes believers and turns men to God? It 
can not be this latter, for the following reason- : 

1. If it is an immediate power or influence, it is without 
the Mediator, and men are made believers and turned to 
God, or converted without Christ, the Mediator between 
God and men. An immediate power or influence is a 
power or influence without a medium or mediator. The 
first objection to this theory is, then, that it sets aside tin- 
Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, in turning men to God. 

2. It sets aside the mission of the apostles, in making be- 
lievers and turning men to God, and sets up a theory of 
making believers by an immediate power or influence with- 
out the apostles. This we know is not the Lord's way. 

3. It sets aside the work of the Church entirely in mak- 
ing believers, and makes believers and turns men to God 
without the Church. In this theory the Church docs not 
work with God at all in converting sinners. 

4. It sets aside the Gospel entirely in making believers 
and turning men to God. The Gospel lias nothing to do 
with it, performs no part in it, and is completely nullified 
by this theory, so far as converting sinners is concerned. 

5. All Bibles, tracts, books, papers, and missionary - 
means for converting sinners, are swept away by this theory 
forever. If God, by an immediate power or influence, makes 
believers and turns men to God, all these means are a 
nullity. 

6. All meetings for preaching to sinners, the preaching 
to them, and all talk to them, is sheer mockery if they are 
made Christians by an immediate power. 

7. Human accountability is at an end, so far as being 
made believers and turning to God, if men are made be- 
lievers and turned to God by an immediate influence. If 
the influence comes and makes a man a believer, the work 
is done. If it does not come and make him a believer, he 



HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 73 

is not made a believer. "Who is to blame if the power does 
not come? Who is to be praised if the power does come? 
This strikes out all idea of responsibility in believing or 
not believing. If a man is not made a believer it is not 
his fault, and the reason is not in him but in God, who 
could send the power and make him a believer, but would 
not. 

It may be deliberately stated, and is here deliberately stated, 
that this theory of men being made believers and turned to 
God by an immediate influence, has done more harm and 
prevented more sincere and honest people from becoming 
Christians, than any other one error in the land, or even in- 
fidelity itself. 

But that the power the Lord exercises in making believ- 
ers and turning men to God, is the power of intelligence 
addressed to the human understanding, is clear from the 
following : 

1. Because the Gospel is the power of God to salvation. 
The power in the Gospel is the power of intelligence. It 
contains intelligence, and is addressed to men and women, 
and, when they hear it, they are moved by this intelligence 
to believe and turn. 

2. Paul says, 1 Cor. iv: 15, "I have begotten you 
through the Gospel." The literal meaning is, " I have 
made you believers through the Gospel." If they were be- 

* gotten, or made believers through the Gospel, it was not by 
an immediate power without the Gospel. Through the 
Gospel, is by bringing the power of the intelligence in the 
Gospel to bear on their minds or understandings. 

3. The Lord, in the commission, Matt, xxviii: 19, said, 
"Go, disciple all nations;" and, Mark xvi: 16, " Preach 
the Gospel to every creature ; " and added, " He who be- 
lieves." He who believes what? The Gospel — the intelli- 
gence preached. This shows that the Lord intended intelli- 

7 



74 HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 

gence to be brought to bear on their understandings, and for 
them to believe it. 

4. Acts xxvi: 18, we find the words of Paul, where he 
says the Lord sent him to the Gentiles, " to open their eyes, 
and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power 
of Satan to God." The Lord, then, through Paul, opened 
the eyes and turned the Gentiles, or converted them from 
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God. 
This he did by bringing the divine intelligence of the Gospel 
to bear on their minds. 

5. Paul says, 1 Cor. i: 21, "It pleased God by the 
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." This 
does not mean that it pleased God, by an immediate influ- 
ence, to save men without preaching. 

6. In all cases, in the time of the apostles, where persons 
were made believers and turned to the Lord, the Gospel and 
some one to preach it, were present. There is not an in- 
stance of one being converted without the Gospel. 

7. James says, Jas. i: 18, "Of his own will begat he us 
by the word of truth." This is true of all who are begotten 
of God. It is by the word of truth, and not without the 
word of truth, that they are begotten of God. 

8. Peter also says: "Being born again, not of corrupt- 
ible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which 
lives and abides forever." See 1 Pet. i: 23. How are 
persons "born again," or begotten again ? " Not of corrupt- 
ible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of Hod." Born* 
or begotten, used as a figure, means being made bell 
This is done by the word of God. 

9. Men are turned to God by Christ. " No man comes 
to the Father but by me," says the Lord. John xiv : (5. 
It is through him, as the Mediator between God and men. 

The Almighty puts forth intelligence through Christj 
through the apostles, through the Holy Spirit, and through 



HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 75 

the Gospel, preached by the Holy Spirit sent down from 
heaven, to the understanding and heart of the sinner, makes 
him a believer, and turns him to the Lord. This work is, 
in some instances, ascribed to God; in some instances, to 
Christ ; in some instances, to the apostles ; in some instances, 
to the Holy Spirit; and, in some instances, to the word. 
But he who would express the whole, in one sentence, says, 
God does this work through Christ, the apostles, the Holy 
Spirit, and the Gospel. But it is the same, no matter 
whether ascribed to God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the 
apostles, or the word. The power of God, of Christ, and 
of the Holy Spirit is put forth, through the Gospel, to save 
man. 

But some one objects, saying, Do you think there is 
power in the mere word to quicken a sinner, dead in tres- 
passes and sins, and turn him to God ? Men of faith never 
say, " the mere word," nor " the bare word," when speaking 
of the word of God, which is quick and powerful, and 
sharper than a two-edged sword, but call it the word of God. 
The power of God is in it, the power of Christ and the 
power of the Holy Spirit is in it. It would be precisely the 
same power if put forth immediately. Men must be de- 
luded beyond description, if they can not see that it is nei- 
ther more nor less than the power of God for salvation that 
is put forth in the Gospel. No one argues that sinners can 
be quickened without the power of God ; but the Gospel is 
the power of God. That power, we have now fully seen, is 
not a subtle influence, that takes effect in the human system, 
without intelligence, but it is the power of intelligence ad- 
dressed to the mind. Hence, not a convert was ever made 
to Christ, where the divine intelligence of the Gospel was 
not, in some way, conveyed to the mind. Nor was a con- 
vert ever made to any system of religion, either true or false, 
without conveying a knowledge of the same to the mind. 



76 HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 

The converts, too, are the same in kind as the operators. 
If the operators are Methodists, the converts are Methodists. 
If the operators are Presbyterians, the converts are Presby- 
terians. If the operators are Christians, the converts are 
Christians, and nothing else. But who, in his right mind, 
believes that the Holy Spirit operates, by an immediate in- 
fluence, on the hearts of the people in a Methodist meeting, 
and converts people to Methodism ; then in a Baptist meet- 
ing, and makes Baptists ; and then in a Presbyterian meet- 
ing, and makes Presbyterians ? The power of the'Spirit is 
in the Gospel, and when that is brought to bear on the 
minds of men, it leads them to believe on Christ, turn to 
God, and become Christians, and nothing else. 

But some one is ready to inquire, Is there power in mere 
ink and paper? Certainly there is no power in mere ink 
and paper to turn a sinner to God, but there is power in the 
divine intelligence, communicated through signs of ideas, 
made in ink on paper — viz., the Gospel — the power of God 
to salvation. The power is not in the words, only as the 
intelligence is in and communicated through the words. 
Why should any man doubt that there is power in the intel- 
ligence of the Gospel to turn men to God, when he has seen 
the power in the proclamation of a president or a general, 
move a nation? Why should sensible people doubt the 
power of intelligence, when they have seen a whole family 
stricken to the heart by a single dispatch of three lines, an- 
nouncing the death of some beloved friend? If uninspired 
communications, about earthly things, can strike grief or joy 
through a whole family or community, why may not a proc- 
lamation from the Almighty Father of heaven and earth, 
involving the destinies of the human race, take effect on the 
hearts of mankind? 

But why argue that which men and women have seen all 
over the land? Who has not seen whole audiences melted 



HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 77 

to tears under the preaching of the Gospel ? Who has not 
seen the most wicked and stout-hearted men melted down, 
subdued and penitent as little children, under the over- 
whelming power of the Gospel, and, in scores, coming and 
yielding themselves to the authority of Heaven ? What if 
teachers of religion have told the people that the word of 
God is a dead letter — that it is powerless, etc.? Have not 
men been seen visiting the people from house to house, 
warning them not to hear the man who preaches nothing but 
the word, thus contradicting all they have said ? They know 
there is power in it, and dread that power. Why do not 
these men, claiming such wonderful spiritual illumination — 
the immediate influence of the Spirit — come out and put 
to flight the men who preach the word and nothing else? 
There is a good reason for it. They are weak as water 
before the men who preach the word and nothing else. 
Trepidation seizes their souls the moment you suggest a 
meeting with a man who preaches nothing but the word. 

What did the Lord command to be preached ? — " Go into 
all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." 
" Preach the word." What were men required to believe ? 
Of course, to believe what was preached — the Gospel. What 
were men to obey ? Christ is the author of eternal salva- 
tion to them that obey him, and he will take vengeance on 
them who obey not the Gospel. What are men to hope 
for? — For all things which the Lord has promised. This 
places the responsibility where it is, and where it ought to 
be — on the part of man. God has given him the Gospel 
,and ability to believe it. If he does not believe the Divine 
and credible testimony which God has given of his Son, as 
[he has the ability to do, God can be just and good, and con- 
demn him for not believing. God has laid commandments 
before man, just, reasonable, and easy, and given him ability 
to obey ; and therefore if he does not obey, the Lord can be 



78 HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 

just in condemning him for disobedience. This is in perfect 
accordance with all the invitations of the Gospel, and with 
our Lord's weeping over Jerusalem, and exclaiming, " How 
oft would I have gathered your children, but you would 
not." Again, he says, "You would not come to me that 
you might have life." And again : " He is not willing that 
any should perish, but all should come to repentance." 
"The Spirit says, Come; and the bride says, Come; and 
whoever will, let him take the water of life freely." "All 
the day long have I stretched forth my hand to a gainsaying 
and a disobedient people." These and many other expres- 
sions of the Scripture are foolishness with the idea of this 
direct converting power, of which we hear so much, with- 
out which a man can not believe, repent, or do any thing 
pleasing to God. All such invitations and expressions in- 
volve the idea that man is free; that he can turn to God, 
and may justly be condemned if he does not do it. 

But if men can not believe, repent, and turn to God till 
an immediate power is sent to make them believers, how can 
they be justly condemned for their unbelief before the power 
comes to make them believers? They are no more to blame 
for not believing before this power comes, than a mill-wheel 
is for not turning before the power that turns it is put on. 
If two men are sitting on the same seat, and the power comes 
and makes one a believer, and leaves the other without the 
power to believe, no justice can blame the one left for not 
believing. This would not be leaving men without a cloak 
for their unbelief; but it is making a cloak for their unbelief 
where the Lord left them without one. 

Does a man say he can not pray with the view here advo- 
cated — that if the Lord does not make believers, and turn 
sinners to God, by an immediate influence of the Spirit, the 
Lord can not answer prayer? In your empty theorizing, 
you have thus limited the Almighty and circumscribed him 



HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 79 

to your narrow theory. Your faith, too, is limited to your 
narrow theory, so that you not only do not believe that God 
does answer prayer without your theory, or in any other 
way than you have marked out for him, but you do not 
believe he can. If your theory is exploded, therefore, you 
will not pray. A little more faith is what you need. You 
must believe that the Infinite One can answer the prayers of 
his saints, whether finite creatures can see how he does it or 
not. The Lord, the Jehovah, is not limited to the narrow 
conceptions of men, nor to their narrow theories and specu- 
lations for the channels of his operations. Men theorized 
many ages about the movements of the heavenly bodies 
before they understood their motion; but the Lord moved 
them on, not according to the theories of ignorant men, but 
according to the laws he had ordained. So he answers the 
prayers of the saints, not through the narrow channels pre- 
scribed in the theories of men, but according to his infinite 
wisdom and will. He can and will perform his work, 
whether we can understand how he will do it or not. 

The great matter for us to understand is, how to perform 
our part of the work. We must know how to do this, or we 
can not do it. The view taken in this discourse opens the 
way for the Gospel, the Church, the preachers, private 
members, books, tracts, missionaries, school-teachers — in one 
word, for human instrumentality, in every form, in making 
believers and turning the world to Christ, and views the 
sinner as an accountable being. The theory here opposed 
strikes out the Gospel, the Church, the preachers, private 
members, books, tracts, missionaries and school-teachers — 
in one word, all human instrumentality in making believers 
and turning the world to Christ. This difference is wide 
enough — so wide that the view here opposed strikes down 
the Gospel entirely, so far as converting men is concerned. 
The only reason why it has not done more harm is, that 



80 HOW ARE PERSONS MADE BELIEVERS? 

those who hold it, in spite of their theory, operate on the 
plan here advocated. Let us, then, preach the unsearchable 
riches of Christ, and make all men see what is the fellow- 
ship of the mystery which, from the beginning of the 
world, has been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus 
the Christ. 



SEEMON, No. IV. 

THEME -THE DEFEERENT THINGS TO WHICH SAEVATION IS ASCRIBED IN 
THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

Text.— "By grace are you saved, through faith; and that not of your- 
selves ; it is the gift of God : not of works, lest any man should boast."— 
Eph. ii : 8. 

This text is selected, because it contains the clear state- 
ment concerning our salvation, that it is by grace and 
through faith. The theme for this discourse will be the dif- 
ferent thiugs to which salvation is ascribed in the New Test- 
ament, or the different things by which we are said to be 
saved, or justified. We are said to be saved, or justified, by 
faith, by grace, by his blood, by his life, by the Spirit, by 
works, by baptism, and, in one instance, the apostle exhorted 
his audience, saying, " Save yourselves from this untoward 
generation." The leading purpose of this discourse will be 
to explain, illustrate, and show in what sense all these ex- 
pressions are used; that they are perfectly consistent with 
each other, and with all the other Scriptures, and, at the 
same time, each one strictly true in itself. The intelligent 
Christian not only believes every one of them, but, in his 
religious meditations and conversations, has use for every 
one of these expressions. The well-instructed Christian 
man does not select a few verses, claim them as his, and 
build a religious system on them, but learns how to receive 
the entire Scriptures as one consistent and harmonious whole. 

(81) 



82 THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 

He does not give out one class of scriptures to the Calvinist, 
another class to the Armenian, another to the Unitarian, and 
another to the Trinitarian, but receives the whole as from 
God, and for him. 

Probably as convenient a. place as any, at which to begin, 
will be to reconcile an expression in the words already 
quoted, with an expression, Jas. ii: 24 ; Eph. ii : 9, Paul says 
of our justification, " It is not of works, lest any man should 
boast." James says of our justification, that " by works a 
man is justified." How can it be true, as Paul asserts, that 
our justification is not of works, and yet true, as James 
says, that we are justified by works? The great Luther felt 
this difficulty so keenly that he repudiated the Epistle of 
James and decided it was not canonical. He thought the 
language of the two apostles utterly irreconcilable. He 
made up his mind that Paul was right — that justification is 
not of works — that by the deeds of the law no flesh can be 
justified in the sight of God. He saw no way to harmonize 
James with this, and decided that the Epistle of Janus was 
not of divine authority. But this will not do, if it was from 
a great man. There is no serious doubt among the authori- 
ties about the genuineness of the Epistle of James. The 
matter, then, is not to be settled in that way. 

Some have tried to solve the difficulty by supposing that 
Paul w r as speaking of one kind of faith and James of another 
kind. But this will not do, for two reasons. In the first 
place, they were neither of them talking of faith at all. In 
the second place, we find no such expressions as " different 
kinds of faith " in the Bible. The Bible knows but one 
ja'dh. As Pollock has, in substance, expressed it, All faith 
is the same in kind, though not the same in degree. Hence, 
we read of "much faith," "little faith," "great faith," 
"weak faith," "strong faith," " faith growing,* etc., yet all 
the same in kind, but not the same in degree or quantity. 



THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 83 

If you had one pint of clean wheat, it would as certainly be 
wheat as if there were a thousand bushels, the same in kind, 
but not the same in quantity. Precisely so, from the first 
impression the truth makes on the heart, or from the first 
confidence the truth inspires in the human heart, up to the 
fullest assurance of faith ever attained by the most devout 
saint, it is faith, nothing but faith, the same in kind, though 
not the same in amount or degree. The matter is not to be 
settled, then, by any subtleties or speculations about faith. 

How, then, is the matter to be settled ? The difficulty is 
not about faith, but about works. Two different sorts of 
works are alluded to by these two writers — one sort, the 
works of the law of Moses ; and the other, the works of the 
Gospel. Paul speaks of the works or the deeds of the law 
of Moses, and declares that our justification is "not of 
works" — the works of the law of Moses; or not by the 
deeds of the law, the deeds of the law of Moses. To this 
James would have assented as heartily as Paul. But James 
is not speaking of the works, or deeds of the law of Moses 
at all, but of the works or deeds of the Gospel of Christ — 
" good works, which God has ordained that we should walk 
in them," as Paul expresses it, Eph. ii: 10, and says, "By 
works" — the good works of the Gospel — "a man is justi- 
fied, and not by faith only." To this Paul would most 
freely have assented. It is simply true that a man is not 
justified by the works of the law of Moses, but the works 
of the Gospel ; or, to express it differently, that a man is 
not justified by keeping or obeying the law of Moses, but 
he is justified by obeying the Gospel of Christ; or, he is 
not justified by the law, but by the Gospel — not justified 
by Moses, but by Jesus. 

But now, attention is invited to another class of expres- 
sions, more directly in accordance with the theme in hand. 
Heb. xi: 7, Noah's salvation is ascribed to faith. In the 



84 THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 

same verse his salvation is ascribed to an ark. 1 Pet. iii : 
20, his salvation is ascribed to water. How can it be true, 
as said in one place, that he was saved by faith; true, as 
said in another place, that he was saved by an ark; aud 
yet true, as said in another place, that he was saved by 
water? Shall one man preach that he was saved by faith 
alone, another that he was saved by an ark alone, and yet 
another that he was saved by water alone f This would be 
absurd. Nothing can be clearer than that, if he was saved 
by faith alone, he was not saved by the ark at all. The 
moment it is established that he was saved by faith alone, 
it is established that the statement that he was saved by an 
ark is not true. It is, at the same time, established that the 
statement that he was saved by water is not true. Faith 
alone, is faith without any thing else. If he was saved by 
faith alone, he was saved by faith without any thiug else, 
and, of course, without the ark or water. But this is not 
true. It is true that he was saved by faith, but it is equally 
true that he was saved by an ark. It is also true that he 
was saved by water, but certainly not by the ark alone, nor 
by the waten* alone. The antediluvians had water, as much 
water as Noah, but no faith nor ark — the water alone — and 
they were all lost. We should be careful about taking 
things alone which the Lord has joined to something else, 
or separating that which the Lord has joined together. 

It is not only true that Xoah believed God, and was saved 
by faith, but in his conduct we have a clear example of the 
strength of faith necessary to save, or when faith is strong 
enough to save. He believed God, and was " moved with 
religious fear." Do you inquire to what extent he was 
moved ? His faith was strong enough to move him to obey 
God ; to do what God had commanded ; to prepare an ark. 
When faith is strong enough to move men and women to 
obey God; to do what he commands them to do, in order 



THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 85 

to salvation ; it is strong enough to save them. When it is 
not strong enough to lead them to obey God, it is not strong 
enough to save them, but simply strong enough to make 
them miserable if the Lord should summon them to judg- 
ment. Noah believed God, and his belief was strong enough 
to create within him religious fear, and lead him to obey God, 
or prepare an ark, to the saving of himself and family. But 
he was not saved when he believed God, nor yet when he 
prepared an ark, so that the faith and ark alone did not 
save him. He believed God for the space of one hundred 
and twenty years, and performed the great work of prepar- 
ing the ark. During this time, too, he had done a vast 
amount of preaching, for he was a a preacher of righteous- 
ness." See 2 Pet. ii: 5. Still, he was not saved! What 
did he lack to save him? He had the faith, the ark, the 
righteousness, and was evidently a praying man, as all holy 
men are, but was still not saved. There was one item still 
wanting to complete God's plan to save him, and that was 
"water," and, in that case, a drop was not a as good as an 
ocean." 

Another beautiful thing opens up here. That is, that 
what man can do himself, the Lord requires him to do, and 
when he comes to what he can not do himself, the Lord 
does that for him. Noah could believe God. This the 
Lord required him to do. He could prepare an ark. This, 
too, the Lord commanded him to do. He could preach 
righteousness and pray. All this the Lord required him to 
do. But he could not provide the water for his salvation. 
The Lord did this for him. By means of his faith, the Lord 
moved him to prepare the ark, and by means of the ark and 
the water, the Lord saved Noah, not by faith alone, nor the 
ark alone, nor water alone, but by faith, the ark, and the 
water combined. 

What a scene it must have created when the time had 



86 THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 

expired ! Noah and bis wife, his three sons and their wives, 
entered the ark and took- in of every living creature as God 
had commanded. The Lord shut him in. This was his 
separation from "the world that then was." He had 
preached the last sermon, given the last exhortation, sent 
up to heaven the last prayer for that people, heaved the 
last sigh over them, and shed the last tears for them. He 
had given them up to their doom. The wrath of God had 
been long kindling. His goodness had long been despised 
and his mercy rejected. Xor did the number involved in 
sin prevent the execution of the guilty. Some say, if cer- 
tain teaching is true, the great mass of humanity will be 
lost. This might have been said truthfully in the days of 
Noah, and in reference to his preaching. But his preaching 
was true, no matter how few were saved according to it. 
He was a preacher of righteousness, and none but those who 
received his preaching and lived according to it were saved. 
In the civil governments of the world, if the number found 
guilty is very great in proportion to the whole population, 
the authorities can not inflict the punishment. The popular 
feeling will revolt at it, while they will stand it to punish a 
few. But, in the divine government, the guilty are pun- 
ished, no matter whether many or few. The arm of Jehovah 
is strong enough, and his justice searching enough, and the 
guilty shall not go unpunished. 

When the appointed hour had come, the engines of de- 
struction were opened upon the world, and the mighty judg- 
ments of the Holy, the Just, and the True were let Loose. 
Fearful and terrible clouds made their appearance, spreading 
over the entire canopy above. The lightnings played across 
the heavens and horrific thunders rolled. The fountains of 
the great deep were broken up. The windows of heaven were 
opened wide. The massive waters surged. The guilty world 
stood condemned before God, and the executioner had come. 



THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 87 

There was no escape. Down they were hurled forever, and 
their destruction recorded for an admonition to the nations 
to come. By faith, the ark, and the water — the same water 
made a means of destruction to the wicked — the precious 
treasure, the few, the small church, were safely carried over 
to the new world. Take warning, if you boast that you 
belong to the " big church," by what became of it in the 
time of Noah. Let men be warned ; the Lord will judge 
the world in righteousness. 

It is not, however, desirable to hear man preach about 
Adam, Noah, Abraham j the Antediluvians, the Egyptians, 
and Jews, and have nothing for the people of our time. To 
that, then, which relates more directly to the men of our 
day, attention must be directed. What has the Lord said for 
us, for our salvation ? This is what more immediately con- 
cerns us. Paul has a general statement to this effect, Rom. 
v: 1, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace 
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." This is a gen- 
eral statement, and relates alike to the justification of every 
person reconciled to God under the Gospel dispensation. 
If there were not another word about it in the New Testa- 
ment, a man might stand on this and maintain that every 
man justified by Christ at all, is justified by faith. That, 
what is aimed at here, may be more clearly understood, it 
may be stated that it is not necessary that faith should be 
mentioned in every instance ; but where we find a mention 
of justification, or salvation, whether faith is mentioned or not, 
it is by faith in every instance. Not that a person is justi- 
fied or saved without faith. It is present in the justification 
of every one whether mentioned or not. For instance, we 
read of the justification of three thousand on Pentecost, but 
in the whole account it is not said that they were justified 
by faith. Yet, every one of them were justified by faith. 
The same is true of the five thousand mentioned in the third 



88 THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 

chapter of Acts, those mentioned in the eighth, ninth, 
tenth, sixteenth, and every other chapter where we read of 
persons being justified. They were all justified by faith, 
and so were all who have been justified at all. Not one has 
been or can be justified without faith. This is true, also, of 
justification by grace. The one utterance, that we are saved 
by grace, is general. It is no special utterance for a special 
case, but it is general and for all cases. No matter whether 
grace is mentioned in every case or not ; still, in every case, 
justification or salvation is by grace. No man is saved 
without grace. It is present in the justification of every 
man, whether mentioned in every case or not. 

The same is true of the blood of Christ. "We are said to 
be " justified by his blood." Rom. v: 9. This, like the 
examples just given, is a general expression, and relates to 
the justification of every man justified by Christ at all. It 
is no special case, for a special person or persons, but a gen- 
eral expression relating to all cases of justification by Christ. 
No matter if it is true that we are not told, Acts ii : 37 and 
38, that the three thousand were justified by his blood; no 
matter if this is not mentioned in connection with the justi- 
fication in another case in the New Testament ; the one gen- 
eral statement, that we are justified by his blood, shows that 
the blood of Christ, as the efficacious cause, is present in the 
justification of every person. Not a soul is justified without 
it. It is never omitted. The same is true of the life of 
Christ and the Spirit. We are justified by the Spirit and 
by his life. 

So far, not a man of any church demurs. Is the inquiry 
made, Why be thus particular? The answer is that there 
is a hard place a little ahead, and the object is to get over it. 
The same principle indorsed in what has just been said, will 
assist us in that hard place. Peter says, 1 Pet. iii : 21, 
" Baptism doth also now save us." This is a general state- 



THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 89 

merit, not of a special few, but of all saved or justified. 
They are saved by baptism. It is present in the justifica- 
tion of every person. It is never omitted. Some objections 
must now be considered. 

Too much is made of baptism. That is not the trouble. 
You may say it is the least commandment if you know it to 
be so, and no argument will be instituted against you. But 
then the question comes up, Is it a commandment of God at 
all? All parties exclaim, "Certainly it is." What is to be 
done with a commandment of God ? There is but one thing 
that can righteously be done with a commandment of God. 
That one thing is to obey it. No matter whether a great 
commandment or a small one, it is right and infallibly safe 
to obey it. This no one denies or can deny. Though the 
people do not put it on a par, in value, with the grace of 
God or the blood of Christ, yet all the commandments of 
God are important in their place, and should be obeyed. To 
fill out the system the Lord has been pleased to ordain to 
save men, it is indispensable to insert the items appearing to 
man to be of the least value, as those appearing to be of the 
greatest value. 

But now, it is said, too much is made of baptism! How 
much do our religious neighbors make of it ? So much that 
they can not, according to their standard authorities, receive 
one soul without it. This statement is made in reference to 
what they hold to be baptism, without any regard to the 
action. Or, what is meant is, that not a church of any note 
will receive a member without what it calls baptism. This 
remark is not made of every irresponsible preacher, who will 
do any thing, and for whom no church is responsible, but 
responsible men, acting in accordance with their standard 
authorities, or acting legitimately. Not a church, then, thus 
acting will receive a member without what it esteems to be 
baptism. No matter how honest the person is, how strong 
8 



90 THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 

his faith, how much he has repented, how much he prays, 
nor how great a change he has experienced, he can not 
get into a church, into full membership, without what it 
esteems baptism. Essential or not, fundamental or not, 
whether the Lord receives them or not, without what the 
church calls baptism they can not legitimately enter. There 
stands what they call baptism at the entrance, and no man 
can enter without it. 

How essential has the Lord made baptism? Precisely 
as essential as these churches have made it. He will not 
receive a person into his church without what he calls bap- 
tism. His church is his kingdom, and who a man is, what 
he is, or where he is, may not be known, but without bap- 
tism he is not in the church, body, or kingdom of Christ. 
Precisely so; who a man is, what he is, or where he is, if 
he has not been baptized he is not in the Baptist church. 
The same is true of all other churches, except that some of 
them call sprinkling or pouring baptism. Who a man is, 
what he is, or where he is, is not here explained, and may 
not be known, but he is legitimately in no Protestant church 
if he has not received what is called baptism. 

Do they say that persons may be pardoned and the 
Lord receive them without baptism? Then they differ 
from the Lord, and require something more than the Lord 
does, before they will receive them. But who is received 
of the Lord? Every justified or pardoned person. His 
terms of justification, or remission of sins, are precisely the 
same as his terms of admission into his body or kingdom. 
He receives into his kingdom every justified person and no 
other. In Christ all are new creatures. Out of Christ 
there are no new creatures. These modern churches, ac- 
cording to their own showing, are more uncharitable (using 
this word in their sense — not the true) than the Lord, for 
they try to prove that the Lord will receive unbaptized 



THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 91 

persons, while they will not. In other words, they reject 
persons because they have not received what they call bap- 
tism, but maintain that the Lord receives them. What 
reason they have for not receiving persons, when they say 
the Lord receives them, it would be difficult to conceive. 

Is it objected that there is too much preaching on bap- 
tism? The Lord says, "Except a man be born of water 
and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of 
God." "But bom of ivater is not an allusion to baptism," 
says a man. Then all the ancient fathers were mistaken, 
for they all understood it to be an allusion to baptism. 
Then the entire church of Rome has always misapplied it, 
for that church has always expounded it to be an allusion 
to baptism. The Greek church has so expounded it. Lu- 
ther, Calvin, and "Wesley so understood and applied it. It 
is quoted and applied to baptism in the Methodist Disci- 
pline and the Presbyterian Confession of Faith. It is so 
applied in all the standard authorities of all the principal 
churches in the world. There is no authority of any note 
that denies it. No matter who a man is, what he is, or 
where he is, " Except he is born of water and of the Spirit, 
he can not enter into the kingdom of God ;" and " born of 
water" is an allusion to baptism. No matter how much 
greater the value of the part relating to the Spirit than the 
part relating to the water, there stand "the water and the 
Spirit," in the same sentence, from the lips of Jesus, and 
the unequivocal utterance, that " Except a man be born of 
water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom 
of God." It is not except a man be born of the Spirit he 
can not enter, nor except he be born of the water he can not 
enter, but " Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, 
he can not enter into the kingdom of God." No matter how 
much more important the work of the Spirit, how much 
greater or more valuable, still there we find water, in the 



92 THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 

same sentence, connected by the conjunction "and" with it, 
and except a man be born of " water and of the Spirit, he 
can not enter into the kingdom of God." 

Nor is this, as some have supposed, two births — one of 
water and one of the Spirit — but one birth, of water and of 
the Spirit, begotten by the Spirit and born of water, as the 
child is begotten by the father and born of the mother, or, 
laying aside the figure, made a believer by the Spirit, through 
the Gospel, and baptized. Except a man shall be begotten 
through the Gospel, or made a believer by the Gospel, and 
immersed, he can not enter into the kingdom of God. \Ye 
are said to be begotten by the u word of truth," by the apos- 
tles, by the Spirit, and by God. It requires but a small 
amount of intelligence to see that this is all the same thing. 
It is of God, through Christ, the apostles, the Holy Spirit 
that spoke through the apostles, and through the word spoken. 
The literal of it is, that God makes believers through Christ, 
through the apostles, through the Spirit, and through the 
word preached and heard. The man thus made a believer 
is, figuratively, said to be begotten of God, and when bap- 
tized he is, figuratively, said to be "born of water." The 
literal meaning of the passage is, Except a man believes and 
is immersed, he can not enter into the kingdom of God. It 
requires belief unto repentance and immersion into the name 
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, to 
constitute the new birth, or what is meant by being born 
again. 

" But you preach too much on baptism," says an objector. 
True, there is much preaching on it, but there is an apology 
for preaching so much on it. When faith is mentioned, 
preachers of all denominations approve of it. All approve 
when repentance is preached. All help with prayer, and so 
of many other things; but mention baptism, and down go 
their hands; they step back and begin to tell that it is not 



THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 93 

essential — that many have gone to heaven without it, etc. Of 
course, those determined that every item in the Lord's pro- 
cess shall be inserted where the Lord ordained it, will have 
to preach much more on baptism than if all the preachers 
would do their part. But there is a way in which those 
weary of hearing so much on baptism can change the pro- 
gramme. Let them turn and preach that faith is not essen- 
tial ; that repentance or prayer is not essential ; and tell how 
many they have known, good and pious, that have gone to 
heaven without faith, or repentance, or prayer, and they will 
soon hear less on baptism and more on these other items. 

The determination now is to maintain the Gospel, the 
whole Gospel, and nothing but the Gospel — every item, from 
the least to the greatest, from the first to the last. That 
which men ignore, neglect, or oppose, will be most assidu- 
ously defended. There are to be no encroachments on the 
kingdom of God. Every item is to be inserted where the 
Lord has ordained it. The grace must have its place. The 
faith must be faithfully inserted, maintained, and defended 
where the Lord inserted it. The blood of Christ must be 
most sacredly guarded and maintained in its divinely or- 
dained place, and so of every other item. If any man de- 
sires to know precisely the extent of the dangerous doctrine 
advocated in this discourse, it would be as well to let him 
know it here as in another part of it. It is, then, that not 
an item in the Gospel may be ignored, omitted, or opposed; 
that God will strike the preacher's name out of the book of 
life, and his part out of the holy city, who dares to strike 
out an item of the Gospel, small or great, no matter whether 
grace, faith, the blood of Christ, the life of Christ, the Spirit, 
works, or baptism. These are important matters with which 
we are dealing, and not to be trifled with. 

To the man who desires to understand, it is a matter of 
profound interest to note the chain in the divine procedure 



94 THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED 

in his way of saving man. Where, then, did it have its 
commencement? In God's infinite goodness. His infinite 
goodness, so to speak, moved him to put forth his last effort 
to save man; his infinite grace or favor brought the Savior 
to the world; his blessed mission among men followed; then 
followed the mission of the apostles; then came the mission 
of the Holy Spirit to inspire the apostles ; then followed the 
preaching of the Gospel by the Holy Spirit through the 
apostles ; this was followed by the hearing of the Gospel and 
its being believed; this belief of the Gospel changes the 
heart and leads to repentance; this is followed by the con- 
fession of the Lord Jesus ; then comes the immersion into 
his death ; this brings the man to the blood of Jesus, that 
cleanses from or washes away sin ; then follows the imparta- 
tion of the Spirit, to strengthen and comfort the saint ; 
then follow all the blessings of the church. Now, let any 
man look back over this list and tell us which item may be 
stricken out. It will not do to strike out the infinite good- 
ness, for then not another item would have followed, and 
there would have been no salvation for man. >Ve may not 
come one step further and strike out the grace of God, or 
the favor that brought the Savior to the world, for then no 
mission of Christ, of the apostles, and of the Holy Spirit 
would have followed, and the whole system would have been 
defeated. So, if you come one link further down the chain, 
and strike out the mission of Christ, all below it would be 
cut off. "We would have no apostles, no Holy Spirit sent, 
no Gospel preached, no faith, and no salvation. So, it will 
not do to strike out the apostolic mission, or the mission of 
the Holy Spirit, as then we would have no Gospel and no 
faith. Nor will it do to strike out faith, repentance, confes- 
sion, baptism, or the blood of Christ, as all below the item 
stricken out would be lost. 

It is not the grace alone, faith alone, blood alone, Spirit 



THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 95 

alone, life alone, works alone, or baptism alone that saves or 
justifies, nor does any one of these save or justify in the 
same sense as any other one. In other words, no two of 
these perform the same part in our salvation or justification. 
The part that the grace of God performs in our justification 
is that it brings our Lord, the Gospel, and the entire new 
institution to man. Without this part, then, there would 
be no justification for any man. Faith performs an entirely 
different part, without which we could not be saved. It 
brings the authority of God to bear on our minds, reveals 
to us our condemnation on account of sins, changes our 
hearts, and leads us to repentance and confession. Baptism 
performs no such part as this at all, produces no change in 
the heart or life, but changes the relation, initiates the man, 
previously changed in heart and life into a new state or re- 
lation, into the body of Christ. It transfers the man into 
the new state or relation. In this new state he comes to the 
blood of Christ, which performs another part of the work, 
without which he would be lost. It takes away his sin, 
cleanses or washes him from the guilt of sin. The Holy 
Spirit, his advocate in the Church, announces him justified, 
or advocates him a justified person, or one not guilty. After 
he is a Christian, he is justified, in the sense of approval, by 
good works " which God has ordained that we should walk 
in them." In short, the favor of God brings the justifica- 
tion to man, the faith changes his heart and life, thus pre- 
paring him for it, and baptism transfers him into the new 
relation, the blood of Christ cleanses him from sin, and the 
Holy Spirit advocates him as a justified man. God, then, 
justifies him through his grace, which brings salvation to 
all men, through the faith which prepares man in heart and 
life for salvation, and through immersion, which transfers 
him into the new relation, and through the blood of Christ, 
which cleanses him from all past sins. God puts forth his 



96 THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 

power through his goodness, his grace, the Savior, the apos- 
tles, the inspiring Spirit in the apostles, the word, the faith 
of the sinner, his repentance, confession, immersion, the 
blood of Christ, the impartation of the Spirit, the prayers, 
the communion — in one word, the entire agencies, means, 
and instrumentalities which the Lord has ordained — and 
saves the sinner. The salvation, coming through these 
agencies, means, and instrumentalities, is divine, from God; 
and the sinner, when saved, owes as much gratitude to God 
as if he had been saved by an immediate exertion of omnip- 
otent power. 

When the favor of God that brought salvation to man is 
the theme of the preacher, and he is speaking of the part 
that the favor of God performs in saving man, he says he is 
saved by the favor of God, but with the understanding that 
faith, the blood of Christ, etc., are in their places ; but when 
he is speaking of faith, and the part it performs in saving 
the sinner, he says he is saved by faith, with the understand- 
ing that every item is in its place. When the blood of 
Christ is the theme, and he is looking to the part performed 
by the blood, he says we are saved by his blood, witli the 
understanding that each of the other items is in its place. 
In precisely the same way, when baptism is the theme of the 
preacher, and he is looking at the part it performs, as the 
initiatory rite into the new institution, he says baptism 
saves us ; but if he desires to state the matter more fully, he 
says, through his grace, the faith, baptism, and the blood of 
Christ, God saves us. But when he makes yet a fuller state- 
ment, he says, by his goodness, which moved him to send 
the Savior; by his favor, which brought the Lord from 
heaven to man, with salvation; by his Son, our Savior; by 
the apostles ; by the Spirit of inspiration that spoke in them ; 
by the word spoken ; by the belief of the truth, the repent- 
ance, confession, immersion, his blood, his Spirit, his life, the 



THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 97 

Church, and all the means ordained, God saves us ; and we 
will give all the blessing, the glory and honor, to him, for- 
ever and ever. 

This style of speaking is common everywhere, and none 
but weak men would ever think of isolating any one of these 
items from all the others, and arguing that we are saved by 
it alone. Such an argument would be not only weak, but 
as silly as the man who would argue, that because a man 
is said to have cut down a tree with an ax, that he did it 
without a handle in the ax; or because a man is said to have 
plowed the ground with a span of horses, that he did it with- 
out a plow ; or because a man is said to have traveled a day 
with a staif, that he traveled without shoes. The circum- 
stance that man is saved by grace does not prove that it is 
without faith, without the blood of Christ, without baptism, 
or without any thing else which the Lord requires. In the 
text, we are said to be saved "by grace through faith," and 
not by grace ivithout faith, nor by faith without grace, nor 
"by grace through faith," without the blood of Christ, nor 
without baptism ; but, as already shown, the grace, in its own 
place, did its part, the faith, in its own place, did its part, 
the blood of Christ, in its own place, did its part, and the 
baptism, in its own place, did its part. Without the grace 
or favor of God, the Gospel, with its salvation, would never 
have been brought to man. Without faith, the heart of the 
sinner would not be changed ; he would not be led to repent- 
ance, to confess or yield to be a servant of the Lord. AVith- 
out the baptism, or the immersion, he would not be initiated 
or baptized into Christ, into one body ; and without the blood 
of Christ he would not be cleansed from sins, or pardoned. 
The grace brings salvation, the faith prepares the man in 
heart and life to receive it, the immersion initiates him into 
Christ, the body, the Church, the blood of Christ cleanses 
him from the guilt of sin, and thus he is saved, not by grace 
9 



98 THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 

alone, faith alone, baptism alone, or the blood of Christ 
alone, but by grace, through faith, baptism, and the blood 
of Jesus. God saves him, and the gratitude he owes to God 
is as great as if he had saved him without an agency, means, 
or instrumentality. The saved man, if he is intelligent, does 
not give the glory to the grace, the faith, the immersion, or 
the blood, but to God, who gave the grace, the faith, the 
immersion, and the blood, and saved him by his grace, 
through faith, baptism, and the blood of Christ. 

If illustration can make the subject plainer, try one more 
illustration : A man falls into the river, and is likely to 
drown. Two men see him struggling in the water, jump 
into a skiff, and hasten to him, and, before he sinks, push 
out an oar, and call to him to seize the oar and save himself. 
He grasps the oar; they pull him into the skiff, bring him 
to the shore, and save him from drowning. The question 
now is immediately asked, How was that man saved from 
drowning? In one instance, it is said two men saved him. 
In another conversation, it is said he was saved by a skiff. 
In another circle, it is said he was saved by an oar. On 
another occasion, it is said he saved himself. How is all 
this? Are these contradictions? Certainly not. How, 
then, is it? It was not said, in any instance, that he was 
saved by the two men alone, the skiff alone, the oar alone, 
or his own act alone. How, then, was it? The man who 
said two men saved him was looking at the agency of the 
two men and the part they performed, without which he 
would not have been saved, and truly said the two men 
saved him. The man who said he was saved by a skiff, was 
looking at the part performed by that agent, without which 
he would not have been saved, and very justly said he was 
saved by the skiff. The person who said he was saved by 
an oar, was looking at the part performed by that agent, 
without which he would not have been saved, and properly 



THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION 'IS ASCRIBED. 99 

said the oar saved him. The one who said he saved himself, 
was looking at his important act, taking hold of the oar, 
without which he would not have been saved. But, to put 
the whole together, instead of two men alone saving him, 
the skiff alone, an oar alone, his act alone, the two men, 
with a skiff, an oar, and the man's own act in taking hold 
of the oar, saved him from drowning. So it is not grace 
alone, nor faith alone, nor baptism alone, nor the blood of 
Christ alone, that saves the sinner; but God, by grace, 
through faith, immersion, and the blood of Jesus, saves the 
sinner. 

There is no question about what God can do — whether he 
can save the sinner without grace, without faith, without 
baptism, or without the blood of Christ. Men of faith, in- 
telligence, and reverence for the Lord, do not discuss any 
such questions. They are questions for skeptics. The ques- 
tion is not about what God can do, but about what he does; 
and that, too, not in an extraordinary case, an exceptional or 
an unusual case — not what he does with infants, idiots, or 
persons who never hear and never can hear the Gospel, but 
where the Gospel is preached ; in the legitimate administra- 
tion of the Gospel ; how he does save the sinner. This is the 
question. Every one is saved by grace. Not a man, in the 
legitimate administration of the Gospel, is saved without the 
grace of God ; but every one saved at all is saved by it, but 
not by it alone. So, in the legitimate administration of the 
Gospel, every one saved at all, is saved by faith, but not by 
faith alone; by immersion, but not by immersion alone; by 
the blood of the covenant, but not by the blood alone. 

Does any one inquire about infants, idiots, and those who 
never hear the Gospel, and never can ? They come not with- 
in the scope of this discourse. This discourse is for Gospel 
subjects, and not for such as can not be Gospel subjects. 



100 THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 

The Lord has not set us to puzzling our brain about infants 
and idiots, who can not understand the Gospel or believe. 
They are not Gospel subjects. The Lord will take care of 
them without the Gospel or Church. We can do nothing 
religiously for them. There is but one thing that "can be 
done for the heathen, and that is not to try to frame a plan 
of salvation for them without the Gospel, but do all in our 
power to send the Gospel to every kindred, and tribe, and 
tongue, and people. Send the Gospel forth to all the na- 
tions of the earth, as it is, indeed, the wisdom of God and 
the power of God. All we can do to save men, must be done 
by the Gospel, and not without it. We can not save men 
without the Gospel. What the Lord intends to do for in- 
fants, idiots, and pagans, without the Gospel, he will do 
without any regard to our opinions, views, or theories touch- 
ing that matter, and without our aid. We have no hand in 
that matter. Our whole duty is in the Gospel plan — in a 
legitimate administration of the Gospel. He has not called 
on us to help him save unconscious infants or idiots, who 
can not believe the Gospel or obey it. He will take care of 
these whether we have correct views of it or not ; whether 
we know how he will do it or not. Officious priests are 
very forward to help where the Lord never invited them, 
and even theorize how the Lord will do things, where they 
can do nothing. The preacher of Jesus can do nothing 
toward saving a person where there can be no faith. Where 
there can be no faith, it is in the hand of God, the righteous 
judge of all the earth, who will do right. Even where there 
is faith, and can be no obedience, the preacher can do noth- 
ing — all is in the hands of the Lord. 

In every case where a soul is lost, there must be a point 
somewhere beyond which there is no turning. By seme 
means, the popular view has settled down in the conclusion 



THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 101 

that death is that point. Hence, some have been singing, 
and others are yet — 

" While the lamp holds out to burn, 
The vilest sinner may return." 

But no man can prove that this is true. That no sinner 
beyond death can return, is doubtless true. But that at any 
time this side of death the sinner can turn to God and be 
saved, no man can prove. God can be vindicated — be shown 
to be as holy, just, and good, and refuse to receive the man 
who has sinned against him, rejected all his mercy, and des- 
pised all his grace, till he can not obey the Gospel, as if he 
would refuse to receive him when he desired to turn just 
after death. When a man refuses to obey the Gospel till he 
can not, refuses to come to the Lord till he can not come 
according to the Gospel, it is disloyal in the preacher of the 
Gospel to promise him salvation without obeying the Gospel, 
and preach at the funeral that the man who lived and died 
without obeying the Lord Jesus is saved. What if a man did 
express a desire to be saved just before he died? Did not 
the rich man in hades express a desire to be saved just after 
he died ? Neither obeyed God while he could. When his 
time was out he could not. When he could not come ac- 
cording to the Gospel, the door of the kingdom, body or 
Church, was shut, no matter whether before death or at 
death. If a man will not come to the Savior while he has 
health and strength to obey the Gospel; to come to God 
according to his law ; if he will not become a Christian, or 
a disciple of Christ, while he can, shall any man of God 
stand up and tell hint that the Lord will receive him when 
he can not become a Christian, according to the law of God? 
This is a case in which the enemy tries preachers of the 
Gospel. Many times, by appeals to their sympathies, he 
overcomes their judgments and induces them to forsake the 
Gospel. 



102 THINGS TO WHICH SALVATION IS ASCRIBED. 

It is not the business of preachers, in visiting the sick or 
preaching about the dead, to decide who will go to heaven, 
or who has gone there. The business of preachers is to teach 
men and women, in life and while they can, how to become 
Christians or disciples of Christ, and how to live to the glory 
of God ; but not to save people who have sinned away all 
their strength and time with which they could have obeyed 
the Gospel and served God, but have never done it. In 
other words, they can do nothing toward saving any human 
being who can not obey the Gospel. It is doing an injury 
to man, to teach that persons can come to the Lord as long 
as there is breath in them. No man can prove this. "While 
persons can come according to the Scriptures, obey the Gos- 
pel, be born of water and of the Spirit, they can become 
Christians and be saved. When the Lord puts his hand on 
them, cuts them down, so that they can not obey the Gospel, 
the time is past, the harvest is ended. Trifle not, then, with 
the eternal matters of the soul, but "save yourselves from 
this untoward generation." Rest not in the delusion that 
you will call for mercy when dying, and be saved. If you 
love not God now, and will not serve him ; if you love not 
the Gospel, and will not obey it ; love not the people of God, 
and will not walk with them ; you need not expect all this 
alienation to be done away in a moment, when you come to 
a dying hour. If you prefer the wicked for your associates 
now, select them and walk with them ; if you turn your 
back on God now, his cause, and people, he will turn his back 
on you then. Turn, then, accept the great salvation, and 
live. 



SERMON, No. V. 

THEME.-MEX MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 

Text.—" Not every one who says Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom 
of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."— 
Matt, vii : 21. 

1st our Lord's introductory address, usually styled " the 
Sermon on the Mount/' he laid down the ground on which 
he discriminated between wise and foolish men. " Those/' 
he says, " who hear these sayings of mine and do them," I 
will liken to wise men. " Those who hear these sayings of 
mine," says he, " and do them not, I will liken to foolish 
men" The wise he compares to a man who dug deep and 
founded his house on a rock. The rains descended, the 
winds blew, and the Hoods came and beat on that house, and 
it fell not, for it was founded on a rock. The foolish he 
compares to a man who built his house on the sand. The 
rains descended, the winds blew, and the floods came and 
beat on that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. 
The difference between the wise and foolish was not that one 
class heard while the other did not, nor that one class believed 
while the other did not, but that one class did what was re- 
quired in the teaching of Jesus, while the other did not. 
The whole matter turned on doing and not doing what the 
Lord commanded. The matter of being accounted wise or 
foolish did not turn on the orthodoxy of their views, on 
Trinitarianism or Unitarianism, Calvinism or Armenianism, 

(103) 



104 MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 

but on doing the will of God. The matter does not turn on 
some abstruse question of theology, metaphysical distinction, 
or speculation of learned men, nor does it turn on the un- 
derstanding of learned, difficult, and mysterious terms, re- 
quiring great depth of profound learning, but on doing or 
not doing the commandments of God. 

Every man ought to be most devoutly thankful that the 
question of our being put down with the wise or foolish does 
not turn on something beyond our control, but on something 
over which we have control. It does not turn on under- 
standing something that we can not comprehend, or even 
something difficult to comprehend, nor on receiving some 
influence that we can not obtain, nor on our Savior or our 
heavenly Father doing something that they will not do, nor 
yet on our doing something that we can not do, but on our 
doing commandments that are not grievous, but easy — some- 
thing that we can do, and perfectly in the bounds of reason. 
The question does not turn on what we think, how we feel, 
what we have experienced, our dreams, the sights we have 
seen, or the strange sounds we have heard, but on doing the 
will of God. Those who do his commandments shall enter 
by the gates into the city and have a right to the tree of 
life. 

The theme of this discourse is, therefore, doing and not 
doing the will of God ; or, in other words, it will be shown 
that the Lord requires man to do something in order to be 
saved. He does not save men in doing nothing. It will 
not be shown in this discourse what that something is that a 
man must do in order to being saved; but the abstract prop- 
osition that he must do something will be discussed. To il- 
lustrate the main principle involved, three different theories 
will be here stated : 

1. One of these theories starts out by affirming that " God 
unchangeably ordains whatever comes to pass." This is fol- 



MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 105 

lowed by the additional affirmation tliat " the number of the 
elect is so definite that it can neither be increased nor dimin- 
ished." If a preacher of respectability, talent, and fair ac- 
quirements were to preach the theory just stated for twelve 
months, in any community in this country, he would find a 
few who would believe it. What would be the result when 
they believed it? They would sit down, fold their hands, 
and do nothing. Inquire, Why is it that they do nothing? 
They will reply, We have no ability to do any thing. God 
ordained whatever comes to pass before the world was, fixed 
the destinies of all men and angels, and we are waiting for 
him to solve the problem, and, in his good time, show whom 
he has elected. Thus these continue to do nothing, waiting 
for the Lord to show whether they are of the elect or not. If 
they are of the elect, they believe that the Lord, in his own 
good time, will bring them in by his irresistible power and 
save them. If they are not of the elect, they can not be 
saved, though they may pray and fast in sackcloth and ashes 
till the trumpet sounds. 

2. Another theory starts out differently from the one just 
described, maintaining that salvation is conditional; that 
God saves men on the condition of faith. But it immediately 
proceeds to inform us that a man can not believe till God 
sends power or influence from himself to the heart, and 
gives him faith or makes him a believer. The advocate of 
this theory takes great pains to prove that faith is an imme- 
diate gift of God. Many, on hearing this theory, believe it. 
What is the result when they believe it? Precisely the same 
as in the other case ; they sit down, fold their hands, and do 
nothing. Inquire of them, Why is it that you do nothing? 
The reply is, that we can do nothing till the Lord gives us 
faith. Yv r e are waiting for the direct gift of God — faith; 
and when the Lord gives us faith Ave expect to be saved on 
the condition of faith. 



106 MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 

3. Another theory starts out with the proposition that God 
will save all men ultimately. But few men ever get fully set- 
tled in the belief of this theory. Many will tell you tbat they 
have tried to believe it, that they wanted to believe it, but 
never could believe it without some liugering doubt. They 
generally come as near to it as the man who argued it dog- 
matically for an hour, but concluded by saying that lie 
would give his oxen to know it. What is the result where 
men make the nearest approach to believing this theory? 
The same as in the other cases; they sit down, fold the 
hands, and do nothing. Approach them and ask, Why is it 
that you do nothing? They reply, that we can do nothing 
in this matter of our salvation, nor need we, for the Lord 
will save us all, whether we do any thing or not, whether 
we belong to any church or not, or even believe on the Lord 
that died for us. 

Now, here are three theories, starting out very differently, 
but resulting in the same thing — leading those who believe 
them to do nothing. Large books have been written and 
read on these theories, and men have studied them till their 
heads ached, and then were grieved that they did not under- 
stand them. They have said to themselves, "If I can not 
be saved until I understand these theories, I can never be 
saved." The truth is, that it is useless to trouble a man's 
brain with these or any similar theories. No matter whether 
you can see through them or not, whether you can under- 
stand them or not, any theory that leads men and women to 
disobey God is wrong. Any theory that leads men and 
women to do nothing, when God has commanded them to do 
something, is sinful. The theories alluded to, and many 
more that might be mentioned, puzzle the minds of men, 
cause them to study and wonder, but lead the people all the 
time to do nothing — to disobey the Lord. These are un- 
questionably of evil tendency and sinful. They not only 



MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 107 

have no salvation in them, but are in the way of the salva- 
tion of men. 

But the reader is now ready to demand Scripture — that 
he does not desire to trouble himself with the theories of 
men. To the Scriptures, then, shall reference be made. 
Mark x : 17, there is an account of one coming to the Sav- 
ior and saying, " Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may 
inherit eternal life ? " If the Lord had intended to teach 
that men can not do any thing, it is a little remarkable that 
he did not insert it in his reply to this man. He would 
have simply replied, " You can not do any thing." This 
would have settled the matter in all time to come; but he 
did not so reply. The Lord said, "You know the com- 
mandments," at the same time repeating them, as given by 
Moses. The man replied, " All these have I kept from my 
youth." The Lord replied, " One thing you lack." What 
was that one thing f " It was grace," says a man. No, 
sir, it was not grace. The Lord had extended to him the 
same grace as he had to all other men. "It was the influ- 
ence of the Spirit," says another. That can not be, for the 
Lord would not withhold from him the influence of the 
Spirit, and then cut him off from eternal life for the want of 
that influence. Not only so, but the influence of the Spirit 
was doing as much to save him as any other man. It was 
something which the Lord required the man to do himself. 
When he heard what it was, he concluded that he would not 
do it. The Lord then decided (though it is said " he loved 
him") that he would not have him for his disciple. Do you 
say it was hard or uncharitable to reject him simply because 
he would not do that one thing f You ought not, for in re- 
fusing to do that one thing, he made a square issue with the 
Lord. The Lord required one thing to be done. He re- 
fused. This was clearly refusing to be governed by the 
Lord. On this account, the Lord rejected him, and for the 



108 MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 

same reason he would reject any other man or an angel of 
heaven. He would not do what was required in the say- 
ings of Jesus, and the Lord likened him to a foolish man 
who built his house on the sand. The last account of that 
man is that he went away sorrowful. The question of his 
acceptance turned on his doing or refusing to do that one 
thing. Be careful how you refuse to do even one thing 
commanded by the Lord. 

Take another example. On the great Pentecost, the 
apostle, for the first time, opened out under the last com- 
mission — delivered his first discourse after the full endow- 
ment from heaven, as Jesus had promised, to guide his 
apostles into all truth, and, at the close, a cry came up 
from the multitude, from the lips of those who heard and 
were pierced in their hearts, " Men, brethren, what shall we 
do?" Here, as in the case of the man just mentioned, the 
very first thing is the question about doing. Why did not 
the apostles tell them that they could not do any thing? 
Because it was not true. They could do something. The 
apostle proceeded, and, in one sentence, told them what to 
do. They did what he commanded, and the Lord received 
them — likened them to wise men, who heard his sayings 
and did them. There were many present on that day who 
heard, but refused to do what the Lord commanded. The 
Lord did not receive one of these. He counted them fool- 
ish men. 

Take one more example, as found, Acts ix. Young Saul 
was on his way to Damascus, persecuting the saints. On 
arriving near to the city, lie and his associates had such a 
visitation as they had never witnessed before. A great 
light from heaven shone round about them, and a voice was 
heard, exclaiming, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" 
Young Saul lifted his voice, and inquired, "Who art thou, 
Lord?" The Lord replied, "I am Jesus of Nazareth, 



MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 109 

whom thou persecutest." Saul again inquired, " Lord, what 
wilt thou have me to do?" Here comes the same question 
about doing. Why did not the Lord reply, "You can not 
do any thing?" For the best reason in the world. It was 
not true that he could not do any thing, but it was true that 
he could do something. The Lord commanded him to rise, 
and said, " Go into the city, and there it shall be told you 
what you must do." When the Lord says a man must do a 
thing, it is not worth while for preachers to argue that he can 
not, ought not, or need not. Ananias was sent to Saul to tell 
him what he must do. He told him what he must do. He 
hesitated not, but did what he was commanded to do, and 
the Lord received him. He counted him a wise man. He 
heard the sayings of Jesus, and did them. 

One more example will be sufficient for the purpose of 
this discourse. We learn, Acts xvi, that Paul and Silas 
came to Philippi to introduce the Gospel there, but, at first, 
received but little attention. A few obscure individuals 
gave some heed to the things that were spoken. A woman, 
possessed of an unclean spirit, followed after them for days, 
crying, " These be the servants of the most high God, who 
show to us the way of salvation." Paul never went to per- 
sons possessed of unclean spirits, spirit-rappers, spirit-medi- 
ums, or table-tippers, to get revelations. He had revelations 
of a higher order than they know any thing about, and, 
being grieved, he, in the name of Jesus Christ, commanded 
the unclean spirit to come out of her, and the spirit came 
out. Her masters, who were carrying her around and 
making a matter of gain from her magic arts, laid hold of 
Paul and Silas, and drew them into the market-place, before 
the rulers. And having brought them to the magistrates, 
they said, "These men, being Jews, greatly disturb our 
city ; and teach customs which it is not lawful for us to re- 
ceive." The magistrates rose up in the midst of the clam- 



110 MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 

ors of the multitude, rent off their clothes, and commanded 
them to be beaten with rods. When they had laid many 
stripes on them, they east them into prison, and charged the 
jailor to keep them safely. Receiving such a strict charge, 
he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in 
the stocks. At midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang 
praises to God. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, 
shaking the foundation of the prison, the doors were opened, 
and the manacles fell off the prisoners, and they were all 
loosed. The jailor, awaking from sleep, and seeing the 
prison doors open, drew his sword, and was about to kill 
himself. But Paul cried with a loud voice, and said, " Do 
yourself no harm, for we are all here." And calling for 
lights, he sprang in, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 
and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Here 
comes the same question : What must I do f It is not, How 
must I feel? What must I experience? nor, What must the 
Lord do? but, What must I do to be saved? They pro- 
ceeded to speak to him the word of the Lord, and to all 
that were in his house; in doing which, they told him what 
he must do. He rose and did what was commanded, and 
the Lord received him — likened him to a wise man. He 
was so anxious to do what the Lord commanded, that he did 
not wait till morning, but went the same hour of the night. 
This shows the importance then attached to doing the say- 
ings of the Savior. 

To these another class of Scriptures may be added, show- 
ing that this principle of doing the will of God runs through 
the entire Christian life; that it is not something confined 
to becoming a Christian, but will extend to the resurrection 
of the dead — to the eternal judgment. Matt, xxv : 34 — The 
Lord says, he will say to those on his right hand, "Come, 
you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for 
you from the foundation of the world." What does the 



MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. Ill 

Lord give as the reason of this grand reception ? " For," 
says he, " I was an hungered, and you gave me meat ; I was 
thirsty, and you gave me drink ; I was a stranger, and you 
took me in ; naked, and you clothed me ; I was sick, and 
you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me." 
"What was the reason of all this? It was something they 
had done, and, because they had done these good deeds, the 
Lord will say, " Come, you blessed of my Father." They 
appear not to understand how they had done these good 
deeds, and he explains that, inasmuch as they had done these 
things to his servants, they had done them to him, or that, 
in doing those charitable deeds to his servants, they had done 
them to him, and he makes them the reason for the final re- 
ception in the great day. 

Turn to John v : 28, and read the word of the Lord : 
" Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming, in the which all 
that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come 
forth ; they that have done good, to the resurrection of life ; 
and they that have done evil, to the resurrection of con- 
demnation." What is here laid down as the reason for 
coming forth to the resurrection of life f Having done good. 
They that have done good, to the resurrection of life. "What 
is the reason here assigned for coming forth to the resurrec- 
tion of condemnation f Having done evil. They that have 
done evil to the resurrection of condemnation. This is the 
great turning point — doing good and evil. 

To whom is Jesus the author of eternal salvation ? Heb. 
v : 9 — Paul says : " And being made perfect, he became the 
author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him." To 
obey him is to do his commandments. The question turns on 
doing his sayings. 

On whom will the Lord take vengeance, when he comes 
in judgment? 2 Thess. i: 7, 8 — Paul says: "And to you, 
who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall 



112 MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 

be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in naming 
fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey 
not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." What is the 
reason here assigned for taking vengeance? Knowing not 
God and obeying not the Gospel, or not doing the command- 
ments or the sayings of Jesus. 

Among the last words of God to man, he says : " Behold, 
I come quickly ; and my reward is with me to give to each 
one according as his works shall be." — Rev. xxii: 12. 

Some man is ready now to file a bill of objections. " I 
see now," says he, " the whole tendency of your teaching. 
You make man his own savior. He does every thing him- 
self, and thus saves himself. This robs God of his glory, 
the Savior of all praise, the work of the Spirit and the grace 
of God of having any participation in man's salvation. The 
creature, by his own acts, saves himself. If he should get to 
heaven on this ground, in heaven he would forever shout 
praises to himself, that he had done the work and saved him- 
self." 

If this objection could be made stronger, it should be 
done, for the object is not to annihilate a shadow, but to 
meet the objection in its full force and most formidable pro- 
portions. In order thus to a full elucidation of the subject, 
it must be explained that there are two parts in this great 
work of saving man — a human and a divine part, or a part 
that man performs and a part that God performs, and that 
neither part, alone, will save man. We must have the hu- 
man and the divine parts together to accomplish the great 
work. These two parts are not only found in the kingdom 
of favor, but also in the kingdom of nature. They run 
through all of man's temporal pursuits in this life. Some 
illustrations may be found of the principle here involved in 
those pursuits. Suppose, for illustration, A and B are ready 
to commence farming in the spring. They have land pre- 



MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 113 

cisely alike in quality and quantity. They walk out together 
and view the premises, and enter into a conversation touch- 
ing the forthcoming operations. Mr. A proceeds to present 
his theory for the coming spring and summer. He says : 
"The Lord is infinite in goodness. He is also infinite in 
love. He loves me better than any earthly parent can love 
a child. He is also infinite in power. He has all power. 
He can cause a crop to grow without my feeble and imper- 
fect works. His love and goodness are so great that he is 
willing to give me a fine crop without my working. As he 
has the power and is willing, I argue that he will give me a 
crop without work. I intend to stand off and let the Lord 
do the entire work, and then I will give him all the glory. 
I will not rob him of his glory by plowing, sowing, plant- 
ing, and cultivating." Mr. B says : " I have no doubt about 
either the infinite power or goodness, but I have some doubt 
about its being his will to give me a crop without work, and 
not much doubt either, for I am very certain he will not give 
me a crop without work. I remember of reading in his good 
book, that I should eat my bread in the sweat of my face. 
I intend to work, plow, plant, sow, cultivate ; to toil faith- 
fully and honestly, believing the Lord will give me a crop. 
These two men proceed according to their programme, the 
one working and the other going about preaching on the at- 
tributes of God, and arguing with his neighbors against 
works. Thus they continue till about the 1st of November. 
A company, who have been listening at their arguments and 
noticing the different courses pursued by them, walk out to 
see what the Lord has done for these two men. They look 
over the farm where the man had been honestly and faith- 
fully at work all the season, and find that the Lord has 
blessed him abundantly, crowned his labors richly — every 
thing abounding all around him. But what has the Lord 
done for the man who has been preaching and disputing with 
10 



114 MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 

his neighbors about the attributes of God all season and not 
working? He has carpeted his farm over with weeds, 
briars, and thistles, and you involuntarily say, " Served him 
right." What made the difference? When the Lord gave 
one, capacity to work, he did the same for the other. When 
he gave one, good rich land, he did the same for the other. 
When he sent the sun to shine on the one, he sent it to shine 
on the other. When he sent rain on the one, he sent it on 
the other. What, then, made the difference? The differ- 
ence was, that one worked and the other did not work. 
Who had ground for giving God glory? The man that 
worked — that joined the human and divine part together. 
The Lord blessed him and not the other. In precisely the 
same way, it will turn out with those who do and those who 
do not the will of God. Those who do not will be likened 
to foolish men. 

Suppose you were to visit a man that you knew twenty 
years ago, and who then had no property, but you find 
him with his broad acres of rich land, his storehouses filled, 
and abundance of every thing. You inquire of him, how 
he came by all this. He explains, that by his close ap- 
plication, industry, good management, and economy, he had 
secured it; but, on being seated at his table, before eating, 
he returns thanks to the Lord. You inquire of him : What 
do you mean, sir? Did you not tell me that you made all 
you possess by your close application, industry, good man- 
agement, and economy ? "I did," he replies. " Why, then, 
did you give thanks to God for it and not to yourself, seeing 
that by your own works it was acquired ? " "I see," continues 
he, " that I shall have to explain the matter to you. There 
are two parts in this matter, a human part and a divine part. 
For the sake of making the distinction, I call what I do 
myself the human part, and the part the Lord does the divine 
part. When you were inquiring how I obtained my prop- 



MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 115 

ert y, I supposed, as a matter of course, you had reference to 
my own personal efforts in obtaining it ; but when I gave 
thanks I was looking at the Lord's part, without which my 
own part would have amounted to nothing, and I gave thanks 
to the Lord, as if he had laid the lands on my table. Or, if 
you would have me elaborate the matter more fully, the 
Lord created me and capacitated me for business. He 
created the lands I own. He sends the rains, causes the sun 
to shine, gives the seasons, and causes every thing around 
me to grow and prosper. When I view all this stupendous 
part, and compare it with the small part which I do myself, 
my part sinks into such utter insignificance, that my heart 
rises in gratitude to God, as if I had done nothing myself. 
This is what I mean by the human and the divine part." 

These two parts run all through the temporal as well as 
the religious departments. What would all our hard toiling, 
plowing, planting, sowing, and cultivating amount to, if the 
Lord did not send the rain, the sunshine, the season, and 
cause the growth? It would all avail nothing. So abso- 
lutely dependent are we on our heavenly Father. These 
two parts run through the entire system the Lord has or- 
dained to save man. There is a human and divine part — a 
part for man to do himself, and a part which the Lord does 
for him. These two parts go hand in hand. Neither will 
go without the other. Now, please make out a list, and 
make it as large as possible, of what you have done yourself, 
and let us compare it with the divine part. 

Do you say, "I have believed on the Savior of the 
world ? " Well, it did not require much time nor labor to 
do that. In a land where the Gospel is preached, and a man 
hears it, it requires a greater effort to resist than to believe 
the Gospel. In the act of believing, a man renders no 
equivalent for any thing, but simply does that which was 
perfectly reasonable and consistent, easier to do than not to 



116 MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 

do — to believe the divine testimony which God has given 
concerning his Son Jesus. A man certainly ought not to 
speak of it as a great labor he has performed, to believe the 
truth of God. He would be very unreasonable not to believe, 
and certainly would not be saved. Still, it is no hard or 
difficult work to believe. 

" But I have repented/' says a man. That is certainly 
well, for he could not have been saved at all if he had not 
repented. " Except you repent, you shall all likewise per- 
ish." Still, there is not much work in repentance. Re- 
pentance can be performed in a short time. Thousands 
have repented in a single day. Repentance is like this: 
A man, going from one place to another, takes a wrong 
road. When he learns that he is wrong, inquires whether 
he can not pass across, shorten the distance, and get into 
the right road. He is told that he can not; that the only 
chance there is of getting right is to turn back. When 
he gets back to the right road, he claims great credit for 
the work he has done in going back and correcting him- 
self. It would be difficult to see that he has performed 
any great work, or that he should have any special credit, 
but it is easy to see that he would have been a great sim- 
pleton if he had not gone back when convinced that he 
was wrong. No man can speak of repentance as a work 
of merit, a great work, or a work that can purchase salva- 
tion ; yet man could not be saved without it. 

Another man exclaims, "I have confessed the Savior." 
That is well ; for he says, " Whoever confesses me before 
men, I will confess before my Father and before the an- 
gels." "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord 
Jesus, and believe in thy heart that God raised him from 
the dead, thou shalt be saved ; for with the heart man be- 
lieveth to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is 
made to salvation." It is no great honor to the Savior to 



MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 117 

have sinful mortals confess him, but a great honor to the 
sinner to sanctify his lips in confessing the Savior of men. 
Still, that confession was no great work; it is made with 
one breath. It costs nothing, and requires but little time. 
Tiiere was no work in that. It ought not to be mentioned 
when speaking of work. 

"But I have been immersed," exclaims another. There 
was not much work in that; it required very little time, 
and was attended with very little inconvenience. It was 
a mere circumstance, when speaking of work. There was 
nothing in it to merit any thing, or to be mentioned in the 
shape of work. Under ordinary circumstances, in an hour 
from the time of starting, a man is through with immer- 
sion. There can be no merit in this. 

" But I have prayed, and prayed much," exclaims another. 
Indeed! and do you mention that as any great work you 
have done? You have asked for the things you needed, and 
obtained them. That is certainly getting things on very 
liberal terms. But much as you have asked, it is very 
probable that you have obtained more blessings that you 
never asked for, than you ever obtained even by asking! 
But it is most astonishing that the ingratitude of the hu- 
man heart should ever become so great that we should 
mention our prayers as any great thing we have ever done. 
But prayer is no equivalent for any blessing. Many a poor 
beggar asks for the pittance he gets many times where you 
ask once for the rich gifts of heaven which you enjoy, and 
never refers to his much asking. Asking for blessings ren- 
ders no equivalent, but we must be independent beyond 
degree if we ask not for the blessings of heaven. "You re- 
ceive not, because you ask not." It is certainly kind, mer- 
ciful, and liberal in our heavenly Father to give when we 
ask, and certainly ungrateful in us to refuse to ask; but 
surely our asking returns no equivalent any more than the 



1 1 8 MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 

asking of the beggar. When we are speaking of the work 
we have done, we ought not to mention our prayers ; they 
merit nothing ; they are no works. 

" I have done a vast amount of going to meeting," says 
one. That is very well; but he should not mention that 
as any great work done ; there was no other place he could 
have gone to and enjoyed so much ; he could not have been 
so happy anywhere else. It is no great work for a man to 
go where he wants to be, and where he has the greatest 
happiness. It does not amount to much when a man goes 
to meeting if he has to be hunted up by the preacher, over- 
seer, or deacon, persuaded, entreated, and exhorted to go to 
meeting when he does go. It might be as well for him not 
to go as to go; the heart is not in it, and his going is not 
free and voluntary; it is pretty much a matter of constraint. 
But the true disciple goes to the house of the Lord of jj ref- 
erence. He longs to see the hour come, that he may go up 
to the house of the Lord and greet his brethren. " One 
thing have I desired of the Lord ; and that is, that I may 
dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, and 
inquire in his temple." We speak not of going to meeting 
as a part of the good works we have done, but as an item 
of what we have done in seeking happiness in this world. 
\Ve could have done nothing that would have rendered a 
greater amount of happiness in this life. It is no great 
work, then, any more than the attending of other places 
of enjoyment. 

"But I have communed many times in my life." That 
was well; but you certainly do not mention that as any 
great work you have done. If you are truly a child of 
God, walking in the unity of the Spirit and the bond of 
peace; if you love our Lord Jesus Christ, you certainly do 
not look on it as a work to commemorate his death. You 
might esteem it a great privilege to sit at the Lord's table 



MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 119 

and meditate on the death of the Savior — the great sin- 
offering of his own most precious blood, with which he 
entered heaven, the true holy place, to appear in the pres- 
ence of God for us, and not a work, a mere duty, an obli- 
gation, but a most gracious privilege. It is the place where 
the children of God come into the most intimate union with 
their Lord and Redeemer. They meditate on his great love 
for us as displayed in his wonderful sufferings — the crown 
of thorns, the nails that pierced his haDds, the spear that 
pierced his side, the blood that ran down, like water, on 
the ground. This should be the highest delight of a Chris- 
tian ; it is the nearest possible approach he can make to the 
Savior in this world. But it is nothing that should be men- 
tioned as any great work we have done; and certainly no 
merit in it, but a great ingratitude if not done. 

Another man exclaims, "1 have paid a vast amount of 
money." That is all very well; but has he not paid as 
much for tobacco, to carry an election, or some other point 
in worldly ambition, or for the pride of life? If he has, 
which yielded the largest amount of happiness in this life ? 
Certainly he will say what he expended for religion. But 
please inquire into this matter a little. What does a 
person want money for ? The reply is, " To secure the 
necessaries of life and the greatest amount of happiness." 
Very well; has he ever expended the same amount in any 
other way that returned so large a revenue of happiness? 
Is he not happier to-day, in view of what he has expended 
in religion, than in view of the same amount expended in 
any other way ? Would he have any of it back again ? He 
certainly would not. If the Lord shall please to give him 
composure at death and right reason, do you think he would 
then have any of what he has contributed back? Would he 
have it expended in any other way ? He certainly would 
not. The amount, then, he has given to the Lord has ren- 



120 MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 

derecl him already a larger revenue of happiness than the 
same amount expended in any other way, and will still ren- 
der a larger amount of happiness at death than the same sum 
otherwise expended. We can not say much, then, even in 
view of the money contributed, of the works we have done. 
The human part even here has been very small. Sum up 
and put all a man has ever done, or can do, together, and 
make it look as large as possible, on the one hand, and then 
turn and see what the Lord has done on the other; or look 
at the divine part. Let us now survey the other side. 

Of what does the divine part consist ? \Vhat has the 
Lord done? The Lord has given us existence. This is ■ 
wonderful gift. The man who is not grateful for his ex- 
istence must think meanly of himself. It is a wonderful 
thing to have au intelligent human existence ; to be capaci- 
tated and endowed as man is. This one item, in the di- 
vine part, looms up so grandly that it overshadows all the 
human part. 

But the Lord has not only given us existence, but given 
it in the grandest period of the world since creation's dawn. 
What period has there ever been in which existence was so 
desirable as the present? Improvements and facilities for 
human happiness and usefulness abound all around us. A 
man, so to speak, can live more and do more, in a short 
life-time of fifty or sixty years, than he could in eight or 
nine hundred years before the flood. The means of secur- 
ing the comforts of life, the beautiful countries, the stupen- 
dous improvements, the means of travel, transportation, of 
communication, etc., are inconceivable. The facilities for 
learning, knowledge, etc., in general, are immense. The 
means for Bible knowledge; the manuscripts, translations, 
histories of the Bible, of the Church, of men, and of the 
world ; the critical works, commentaries, concordances, lex- 
icons, etc., are so abundant, that if a man does not learn 



MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 121 

something, he must be stupid in the extreme. The fields 
the Lord now opens to men of enterprise, in all the great 
departments in life, are great and inviting beyond any thing 
in any other age of the world. We should bless God for 
existence in this grand period of the world. 

But when we had sinned against Heaven, forfeited all, 
and were lost — without God, and without hope — the Lord 
had mercy on us, and opened up a way, new and living, 
whereby we could return to him and obtain pardon. In 
pity, in infinite compassion, he looked down on us and ex- 
tended his Almighty hand to lift us up and give us glory 
and honor. ' " Know you not," says Paul, " the grace of 
our Lord Jesus Christ; that, though he was rich, for our 
sakes he became poor, that w T e, through his poverty, might 
be made rich." From riches, and glories, and honors, he 
descended to the abodes of wretchedness, sorrow, and woe, 
to lift us up and crown us with glory and honor. He con- 
descended so low that he had not where to lay his head. 
When we come to this, all we have ever done sinks into 
insignificance and nothingness. 

Then follow the Savior during his mission, and see him 
stooping to the poorest, the lowest, and humblest, in acts 
of mercy and compassion, kindness and benevolence. Be- 
hold his deep sympathy, his great love, his divine pity — 
none were too low, too humble, or too degraded for his di- 
vine compassion. Then look at the great and commanding 
displays of supernatural power, the mighty miracles, in at- 
testation of his divine mission : the blind saw, the deaf 
heard, the dumb spoke, the lame walked, the dead rose, 
and the poor had the Gospel preached to them. "The 
works that I do, they testify of me," said he. The vast 
multitude, in the open blaze of daylight, are fed by mir- 
acle; the sea is calmed, and the furious winds subside at his 
mandate. When he dies, there is a great earthquake: the 
11 



122 MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 

rocks rend, and darkness spreads down over the whole land, 
from the sixth to the ninth hour. The vail in the temple 
is rent from the top to the bottom, as if to symbolize, that 
the way into the true holy place was about to be opened. 
Men in all directions are overwhelmed and filled with most 
profound aw r e. But even now, after the body is dead, they 
fear that something will come from it, and, with caution, 
place an armed guard of sixty men over it. A great stone 
is rolled to the entrance of the tomb, in which it is laid, 
and the governor's seal placed on it, with the charge, " Make 
it as secure as you can." His friends are disheartened. The 
enemies are exultant. They feel that they have gained a 
victory. But the question is not settled yet. He has only 
so far gone through the programme, precisely as he said he 
would before he died, and died the precise death he pre- 
dicted. But he said he w^ould rise again the third day. His 
enemies remember that he said this, but do not believe it. 
All they do is to guard against deception — against the body 
being stolen, and a report put in circulation that he has 
risen. The predicted time for his resurrection comes. The 
grand test is at hand — the decisive trial. AVill he rise? 
Early on the morning of the third day, as the day began to 
dawn, an angel descended and rolled away the stone from 
the entrance of the tomb. The Lord rose from the dead, 
and, as if the Almighty determined a still fuller demonstra- 
tion and attestation, a vast number of others — it may be, 
old saints, whose bodies rested about Jerusalem — rose, also, 
after his resurrection, and were seen of many in the holy 
city. 

By the time you view these scenes, on the divine part, or 
in "the wonderful works of . God," what think you of the 
human part — of all man does or can do? But the story is 
not near told. Follow on till the Lord ascends to heaven, 
is crowned Lord of all; till he sends the Holy Spirit to 



MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 123 

guide the apostles into all truth, inspires the apostles, en- 
dues them with unerring power, sends them into all the 
world to preach the Gospel to every creature, gives them the 
Gospel, through them opens the door of the kingdom of God, 
receives men and cleanses them from all their pollutions in 
the blood of the Lamb ; takes away the guilt, the condemna- 
tion, and justifies sinners — those who had forfeited every 
thing — and receives them as children, sons and daughters 
of the Lord Almighty. He then extends to them line upon 
line, precept upon precept, saying to them, Come, my dear 
children, let me take you by the hand; I will never leave 
you nor forsake you, but will grant you grace and glory, 
and withhold from you no good thing. I am able to hold 
you up ; to keep you from falling ; I will be a strong tower 
round about you, realizing to you continually that the ever- 
lasting arm is underneath. In all your trials, afflictions, 
and fears, I will be a father to you, and you shall be my 
children. Call on me and I will hear you. 

Such are a few of the consolations he furnishes as we pass 
along through this life. Then, when we come to the end 
of the race, to the conclusion of this life, and are called on 
to bid adieu to all that is dear on earth — father, mother, 
husband, wife, brother, sister, son, daughter; when the most 
tender fleshly ties are to be cut asunder and all earthly re- 
lations severed forever ; when houses, lands, moneys, goods, 
chattels; in one word, when all kinds of worldly interests 
are to be surrendered; when the body itself is sinking, and 
the cold hand of death approaching; when the earthly 
powers are all failing, and even life itself is fading away, 
and the summons comes to cross the river, and the Lord 
reaches his hand and says, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, 
enter into the joys of your Lord" — little will we think of all 
we have ever done. Thus, beyond the "rolling river," 
when he shall send a convoy of his blessed angels to escort 



124 MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 

us to Abraham's bosom, to the paradise of God, to a state 
of rest, of comfort, till the resurrection morning, the im- 
mensity of the divine part, the work of the Almighty Father, 
for man, will begin to show up grandly. 

But beyond this again, when the grandest day, since crea- 
tion's dawn, shall come; when the world, as in the days 
before the flood, shall be rushing on its wild career, suspect- 
ing nothing, suddenly the ears of all nations will be saluted 
by the voice of the archangel and trumpet of God, announc- 
ing the grand summons, "Arise, you dead, and come to 
judgment." The graves will be opened, and all that are in 
their graves will come forth: they that have done good, to 
the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil to the 
resurrection of condemnation. The saints will not simply 
be raised from the dead, or restored to what they were be- 
fore they died, but changed, from mortality to immortality, 
from dishonor to a glorified body, like the glorified body of 
the Lord himself. God gives to every seed its own body, 
not as it was when sown, but the glorious body of the res- 
urrection, a glorified, or immortalized body. When we think 
of this part of the w T ork of our heavenly Father, all we ever 
did sinks out of sight. This prepares us for the interesting 
and glorious associations of the angels, the redeemed, hap- 
pified, and glorified, in the heaven of heavens, in the pres- 
ence of God and the Lamb. 

But there is still another chapter in the work of the Al- 
mighty Father. His infinite hand fitted up the new 
heavens and new earth. When the old world, or the world 
before the flood, was filled with violence, polluted and cor- 
rupted so as to be beyond the reach of repentance, beyond 
the reach of all moral power, the Lord destroyed it by water. 
AVhen the world that now is, shall culminate in crime, hard- 
ness of heart, and rebellion against God, the Lord will bap- 
tize it, not as he did in the days of Noah, in water, but in 



MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 125 

fire. This prepares the way for the " new heavens and new 
earth/' which the Lord shall fit up for the saints, in which 
righteousness shall dwell. When we are contemplating the 
divine part, then, we must take into the account this stu- 
pendous work of fitting up the new heavens and new earth. 
This all belongs to the divine part. Man has no agency 
or instrumentality in it. 

There is, however, one more chapter in the divine part. 
The new Jerusalem, which John saw descend from God out 
of heaven, prepared as a bride for her husband, belongs to 
the divine part. "I saw," says John, (Rev. xxi: 2), "the 
holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from 
God, prepared as a bride for her husband. And I heard a 
loud voice out of the throne, saying, Behold the tabernacle 
of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they 
shall be his people, and God-w t ith-them shall be their 
God. And he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; 
and death shall be no more, nor shall mourning, nor cry- 
ing, nor pain be any more; because the former things are 
passed away." In view of this and what has preceded of 
the divine part, what shall we say of the human part? 
Certainly it will not hinder us from ascribing the blessing 
and the glory, and the honor of our salvation to God and 
the Lamb forever and ever. 

What we do, or can do, is but little; but our most gra- 
cious Father can do much. We are weak, but he is strong. 
We are poor, but he is rich. We may, then, in the lan- 
guage of the Old Book, say, " Not to us, not to us, but to 
thy great name be all the honor and glory, O Lord of hosts." 
When we look to a house not made with hands, eternal in 
the heavens ; a rest remaining for the people of God ; a city 
whose maker and builder is God, where all tears shall be 
wiped away, and there shall be no more sorrowing, nor any 
of the causes of sorrowing; where our hearts shall never 



126 MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 

ache ; where the weary are at rest and the wicked cease from 
troubling; where peace, joy, and love shall abide forever 
and ever; where we shall see Jesus, whom we have loved, 
praised, and adored, and dwell with him forever, in the 
presence of the Father, we shall say, It is enough. 

In view, then, of the great things the Lord has done and 
proposes yet to do for the children of men, and the small 
amount he requires of man, what can be said to those who 
have never taken interest enough in these wonderful mat- 
ters to take the first step, or do the first thing, of that small 
part required of man in order to his salvation? Can it be 
possible that men will live in a land of civilization, churches, 
preachers, and Bibles ; in a Gospel land, and hear that Jesus 
died for them; that he rose from the dead, and will judge 
the world in righteousness, and utterly disregard his au- 
thority ? Can they, will they hear and know, that he stands 
all the day long, stretching forth his hand to a disobedient 
people, and inviting them, by all his tender mercies, to come 
to him and live? Shall he appeal to them by all his love, his 
goodness, and compassion to come to him and live, and will 
they, in hardness of heart, impenitence, and unbelief, turn 
away and refuse to have his grace ? While the Lord holds 
up before their eyes a history of the people before the flood, 
of the Egyptians and Sodomites, and warns them, by their 
terrible example, shall it fail to reclaim them? Shall the 
men of Nineveh, of Tyre, and Sidon, and the Queen of 
Shcba rise in the judgment and condemn the men of our 
time? Be warned by the fate of the people before the flood, 
the Egyptians, those of Sodom and Gomorrah, Tyre and 
Sidon, the Jews and all the nations and peoples who have 
turned away their ears from the counsel of heaven, and turn 
to the Lord. Be warned by the terrors of the Lord, by 
the eternal judgment and the eternal condemnation of the 
wicked ; be warned by the value of your precious soul and 



MEN MUST DO SOMETHING TO BE SAVED. 127 

the imperishable glories and honors to be awarded at the 
appearing and kingdom of Jesus Christ. Be warned by all 
the nearest, dearest and most sacred interests of humanity; 
by all your relations in this life ; the love you bear to fathers, 
mothers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, sons and daugh- 
ters, as well as the community in which you live and which 
you owe your influence and means, in a liberal degree, to 
elevate, ennoble and save. 

You will, to some extent, be held amenable in the last 
judgment, for the moral and religious condition in which 
you leave the community where you lived. If you never 
try to make yourself any better, not even so much as con- 
fessing the name of Jesus, or by any direct act, indorsing 
his religion, you will be held accountable for insubordina- 
tion to the Lord and the life you have wasted in opposition 
to the will of God, that ought to have been spent in doing 
good. Think of these things and turn, while it is called 
To-day. Be entreated by all the tender mercies of our God, 
his goodness and compassion, to turn and live. To-day, if 
you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, but bow your 
will to the will of God. 



SERMON, No. VI. 

THEME-CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 

Text.—" Repent, therefore, and turn, that your sins may be blotted out, in 
order that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the 
Lord."— Acts iii: 19. 

The introduction of the religion of Christ into the world, 
is the grandest event connected with the entire history of 
man. The founding of empires, kingdoms and republics, 
their revolutions and downfalls, hold no comparison in point 
of magnitude, with the one grand and transcendently sub- 
lime event of founding this new institution of religion, 
called the kingdom of Christ. The infidel that denies Christ 
and the divine authority of the Bible, still has this wonder- 
ful event, the most astounding one ever recorded — the found- 
ing of Christianity — to reason on and account for. There 
stands the undeniable fact, confirmed by the testimony of 
Jews, infidels, pagans and Christians; the united testimony 
of all history; uncontradicted by any authority, at the time, 
in the place, and by the persons, as reported in the Bible. 
Admitting all this, as a man of reason, and one who claims 
to account for the position he takes, it devolves on him to 
tell us how it was that a poor carpenter, a Nazarene, who 
had never received even common schooling, the society of 
influential persons, any power from wealth or birth, at the 
head of a dozen fishermen of Galilee, fresh from their hum- 
ble avocation, uncouth, unaccomplished and unlettered, stood 

(129) 



130 CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 

up in Jerusalem, the center of the most violent religious 
bigotry, in opposition to the sanhedrim, the distinguished 
rabbis, scribes, and doctors of Jewish divinity, with their 
magnificent temple, imposing synagogues, altars, victims, and 
ancient ritual, on the one hand; and outside of all this, pa- 
ganism, with the civil governments, the money and philoso- 
phy of the world at command, on the other; and in defiance 
of this combined opposition of the Jewish and pagan world, 
swept away their religious rites, forms, ceremonies and in- 
stitutions, declaring them null and void, and established a 
new religion on the ruins ! 

How was this done, if God was not in the work ? How 
did twelve unaccomplished, unlettered and moneyless fish- 
ermen, in defiance of the doctors, priests and scribes, in a 
few days after their leader had been put to an ignominious 
death, and they had shown themselves to be cowards, stand 
up boldly in Jerusalem and induce three thousand of the 
people to believe that God had raised this same leader from 
the dead and turn away from their former religion, associa- 
tions, and every thing earthly that was dear to them, and 
commit themselves to this new faith? How did they per- 
suade five thousand, on another occasion, to fall in with 
them? How did they, in a short time, extend the doctrine 
to Samaria, and in ten years to the Gentiles, bringing thou- 
sands on thousands to the faith ? By what means, natural 
or supernatural, human or divine, did they, in forty years, 
extend it the length of the great Mediterranean Sea, to all the 
cities, towns and villages of note throughout Asia Minor, in 
the mere strength of ignorant fishermen? This they did, if 
the skeptic is right. How credulous the man must be who 
believes all this ! 

Paine, in his book, falsely styled "The Age of Reason," 
delighted to array Moses, Jesus, and Mahomet, in the same 
class, as three great impostors, and skeptics still delight to 



CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 131 

speak of the similarity between the rise of Mohammedanism 
and Christianity ; but certainly there was no similarity be- 
tween the early progress of Christianity and Mohammedan- 
ism. Christianity proselyted three thousand persons the 
first day the death, resurrection and glorification of its 
founder in the heavens was fully unfolded, but Mohammed- 
anism did not make one hundred converts in the first ten 
years. No impostor ever converted three thousand persons 
at the first speech, nor five thousand at the second; nor 
could the religion of Christ have done this, if nothing more 
than human power had been in it. Its success was not at- 
tained either by pandering to the pride of life, the lusts of 
the eye, the customs of the world, nor by enticing words of 
man's wisdom, or any effort to please man. The holy life, 
the pure morals, the austere manners it enjoined, forbid this. 
Nor was it done by sympathizing with other and false sys- 
tems of religion in the world, nor the true one which the 
Lord had abolished ; nor by aping the priesthood who taught 
these systems and bound them on the necks of the people. 
They remembered the command of their leader, " Be you not 
like them" On the one hand, they openly declared the Jew's 
religion null, void, abolished, taken out of the way, and that 
by the deeds of its law no flesh could be justified. On the 
other hand, they declared all paganism an abomination in 
the sight of God ; that pagan idols were not gods, but the 
workmanship of men's hands; that there was no salvation 
in them. They openly declared the whole world to be under 
sin, under the power of the wicked one — guilty before God ; 
and that there was no other name given under heaven nor 
among men by which any person could be saved, but the 
name of Jesus. This was offensive to all, both Jew and 
Gentile alike, sweeping away every thing they held sacred 
under the name of religion. It was revolutionizing relig- 
iously, in all its bearings. He who can believe that twelve 



132 CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 

fishermen, without learning or any superior natural ability, 
money, or popularity, in their oivn mere human strength, 
stood up in the face of the priests and scribes of Israel, on 
one hand, and the statesmen, philosophers, and men of wealth, 
combined with the entire pagan priesthood, on the other, as 
described; and advocated this new doctrine, defended, prop- 
agated and perpetuated it, as the facts in the case, admitted 
by Jews, pagans and skeptics show they did, never ought 
to speak of the credulity of mankind. The man who can 
believe all this is too credulous to be a Christian. He can 
believe without evidence. The Christian system only re- 
quires a man to believe with credible evidence. 

Shortly after the great Pentecost, Peter and John went up 
to the temple at three o'clock in the afternoon, as we count 
time, it being the hour the Jews were accustomed to assemble 
for prayers. There were two causes moving them, if no 
more, in going there at this time. 1. The natural desire 
of the human soul, when in possession of good news, to tell 
it — to publish it abroad. They had the best news ever pub- 
lished — the news of a free and gracious pardon for a guilty 
and condemned race. 2. They had a divine commission 
from the great head of the Church, to " Go into all the world 
and preach these good news to every creature " — to " Go, 
and disciple all nations." Impelled, then, by the natural 
desire, burning in their breasts, to publish the good news of 
salvation to a perishing world, and a divine commission re- 
quiring them to do it, they went up to the temple. As they 
were passing the gate called Beautiful, their ears were greeted 
by the importunities of a beggar, a man lame from his birth, 
who was carried and laid there to implore the charities of the 
people as they passed into the temple. Looking on Peter 
and John, he asked them for money. These preachers were 
in a similar predicament with many others of whom we have 
heard ; they were poor men and had no money, nor were 






CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 133 

they ashamed to acknowledge the fact. Peter with John, 
looking intently on the man, as he lay before them, helpless, 
said, " Look on us." He anxiously gave heed to them, ex- 
pecting to receive something. Peter said, " Silver and gold 
I have none; but what I have I give you : in the name of 
Jesus Christ, of Xazareth, rise up and walk. And he took 
him by the right hand and raised him up. And immedi- 
ately his feet and ankle bones received strength; and leap- 
ing up, he stood, and walked, and entered with them into 
the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God." This 
attracted the attention of the people, and thus served one of 
the principal designs of miracles. Miracles never converted 
any body, nor was their design to convert. The design of 
this miracle was twofold : . 1. To attract the attention of 
the people to induce them to hear. 2. To prove to them 
that God was with these men, or, in other words, to confirm 
their divine mission. 

Another matter worthy of note, in this grand transaction, 
is, that it occurred in broad daylight and openly, as if the 
Lord would challenge the world to investigate — to test the 
claims of the newly-authorized embassadors of Christ. Nor 
was this done in vain, for in the council held over the matter, 
by Annas the high priest, Caiaphus, John, Alexander, and 
as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, alluding 
to the healing of the lame man, they admitted, not only 
that a miracle had been done, but a noted miracle; and not 
only a noted miracle, but that it was known to all who dwelt 
in Jerusalem, and that they could not deny it. 

Peter, seeing the eyes of the people earnestly fixed on 
himself and John, proceeded to guard against another evil 
against which no impostor ever does. u Why," says he, 
"look you so intent on us, as if by our own power or holi- 
ness this man has been made whole?" This is in a very 
different spirit from that of Pope Pius IX, who claims to 



134 CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 

be the successor of the apostle Peter. When they look in- 
tently on this modern Peter — the false Peter — the Man of 
Sin — or when they bow down before him, he never inquires, 
u Why look you so earnestly on us, as if by our own power or 
holiness this man had been made whole?" He claims that 
it is by his own power and holiness that wondrous things 
are done, and requires them to address him by "His Holi- 
ness," " Vicar of Christ," " Visible Head of the Church on 
Earth," " Lord God the Pope," etc. But the Peter whom 
Jesus sent, unlike this venerable head and representative 
of the great apostasy, when Cornelius, in his unenlightened 
condition, desired to worship him, forbade it, saying, " I 
myself also am a man." He would not permit any person 
to fall before him, as to the Lord. In the same style, in 
Solomon's porch, he inquired, "Why look you so earnestly 
on us, as if by our own power or holiness this man has been 
made whole ? " 

This was abundant caution that he might not fall into the 
sin of Moses, on account of which he was not permitted to 
lead the Israelites into the promised land. Some have sup- 
posed this sin was, that Moses became angry. Others think 
it consisted in his striking the rock. There is no evidence, 
however, that it consisted in either of these, but clear evi- 
dence that it consisted in an entirely different thing. He 
took the glory to himself and Aaron, that was due to God 
alone. Said he to the Israelites, " You rebels ; must toe 
bring you water from this rock?" The Lord says to him, 
" Because you sanctified me not in the eyes of this people, 
you shall not go before them into the land I have promised 
them." He did not set God apart before that people, or in 
their eyes, as the source of the water from the rock, but said, 
<l Must we give you water from this rock?" 

Peter avoids a similar sin, in inquiring, " Why look you 
so intently on us, as if by our own power or holiness this 



CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 135 

man has been made whole? The name of Jesus Christ, 
through faith in his name, has given this man this perfect 
soundness in the presence of you all." How bold, manly, 
and self-denying this language, losing sight of himself, and 
carrying the minds of his hearers to his Lord and King. 
The name of Jesus Christ, through faith in his name, has 
made this man whole. This is done, too, in the presence 
of you all. As Paul said, before Agrippa, " This thing was 
not done in a corner," but openly and in broad daylight, 
before the gaze of a numerous multitude. This convinced 
them of the truth, and he proceeded as follows : " Repent, 
therefore, and turn, that your sins may be blotted out." 

This opens the way for the main topic of this discourse, 
which is conversion. Many fears of unsoundness are enter- 
tained on this subject. On this account, it will be necessary 
to examine the subject with much care. The first thing, 
then, will be to consider the word convert, and examine its 
use, and ascertain its meaning in Scripture. 

The original Greek word, strepho, occurs eighteen times 
in the New Testament, and is translated turn, in every in- 
stance, in the common version, except Matt, xviii : 3 : " Ex- 
cept ye be converted and become as a little child," etc. The 
Bible Union translate it turn, here, and read it as follows: 
" If ye do not turn and become as little children," etc., thus 
making the turning their own act, and at the same time 
making them accountable beings. If man can turn from 
sin to the Lord, he is an accountable being and may justly 
be condemned for not turning. But if a man can not turn 
from sin to the Lord, he is not accountable, and can not be 
justly condemned for not turning. We do not condemn 
the wheel, which can not turn itself, for not turning, when 
there is no power on it sufficient to turn it. 

In every instance where the word strepho occurs in the 
Kew Testament, except the last one, Rev. xi : 6, the person, 



136 CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 

or that which was turned, turned itself, as for example, Acts 
vii: 42, "God turned;" Acts xiii : 4, Paul says, "We turn 
to the Gentiles •" Luke vii : 9, Jesus " turned him about ;" 
Luke vii : 44, " He turned to the woman." 

The original Greek word, epistrepho, occurs thirty times, 
and is translated, in the common version, turn, or its equiv- 
alent, twenty-two times. It is eight times rendered con- 
verted, or convert. In a large majority of these cases, that 
which was turned, turned itself, as Matt, ix : 22, " Jesus 
turned him about ;" Matt, x : 13, " Let your peace return to 
you ;" Mark v : 30, " Turned him about in the press," etc. 
There is nothing in the meaning of this word, showing 
which way the turning, or converson is, whether from bad 
or good. This must be learned from the connection, as for 
example, 2 Pet. ii : 22, " The dog turned to his vomit again;" 
Mark xiii : 16, " Let him not turn back," etc. In one in- 
stance, where the turning is to the Lord, the turning is 
ascribed to the preacher ; as, for example, Acts xxvi : 18, 
Paul was to "turn them from darkness to light, and from 
the power of Satan to God." The turning is here ascribed 
to the preacher, in view of his agency, or instrumentality, in 
turning them. The turning is never ascribed to God, to 
Christ, or to the Holy Spirit. Still, it is true, when we are 
looking to God as the author of the entire scheme, by which 
we are turned and saved, we say that God twrns us. When 
we are looking at the instrumentality of the preacher, we 
ascribe the turning to him. When we are looking at the 
act of turning, we ascribe the turning to man. 

Converted to God, means turned to God, and nothing 
else. It is the purpose of this discourse to elucidate this 
whole matter fully. In order to this, it is necessary to make 
a few preliminary statements : 

No person turns to God properly, or in the sense of the 
Gospel, without undergoing three distinct divine changes. 



CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 137 

1. A distinct divine change in the heart. 2. A distinct 
divine change in the life, or character. 3. A distinct divine 
change in the state or relation. When a man is divinely 
changed in heart, life and relation, he is a new creature, a 
child of God. 

In order to these three distinct divine changes, there are 
three distinct appointments in the Gospel. 1. The Lord 
has appointed faith to change the heart. 2. He has ap- 
pointed repentance to change the life. 3. He has appointed 
immersion to change the relation. The heart is never 
changed by repentance. The character is never changed by 
immersion. The state is never changed by faith. Faith 
and repentance together, never changed the state or rela- 
tion. Immersion never changed the heart, or life. 

These three grand items, in turning to God, can not 
be reversed in their order. The state or relation can not 
be changed first, then the life, and then the heart. The life 
can not be changed first and then the heart. The heart is 
the beginning place. The change in the heart must be pro- 
duced first. There can be no repentance, or change in the 
life, produced by repentance, till the heart is changed. The 
change in the heart leads to repentance, and produces it. 
Repentance results in a change of life, or it is worthless. The 
order of heaven is, that faith must come first, producing a 
change in the heart. Repentance must follow next, pro- 
ducing, as its legitimate fruit, a change of life. When the 
heart and life are both changed, the person is ready for a 
new state or relation. 

The way is now clear for the investigation of this work, 
as a whole, and each of these items separately, in particular. 

I. What, then, is meant by a distinct divine change in the 
heart? Such a change as destroys the love of sin and es- 
tablishes the love of God in the heart of the sinner. The 
j love of sin must be completely destroyed in the heart, so 
12 



138 CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 

that the subject hates it and no longer desires to practice it; 
and the love of God, of righteousness, and holiness, estab- 
lished in the heart, so as to create hunger and thirst after 
righteousness. In nine-tenths of the cases where preachers 
talk of " experimental religion," and require persons to tell 
experiences, the amount of the experience is no more than 
that the subject has experienced a change — that what the 
subject once loved he now hates, and what he once hated 
he now loves. This is all right as far as it goes, but, in 
many churches, it is taken for more than there is in it. It 
is taken not only for what it is — a change in the heart — but 
for the entire process of turning to God ; a work of grace, 
evidence of pardon, the impartation of the Holy Spirit — a 
new creature. This is too much. All this is not in it. 
Where the statement is true, there is this much in it, a 
change in the heart — no more. The love of sin is destroyed 
in the heart and the love of God established there. That 
is all. There is no repentance, no change of relation, no 
pardon, no impartation of the Holy Spirit. The person is 
simply prepared in heart for all the balance of the work 
which should follow. Those who thus limit conversion do 
not comprehend the work. They stop with a single item. 
II. What produces this distinct divine change in the 
heart? It has already been stated that faith produces it. 
This must now be elaborated and elucidated. Perhaps a 
description of a case and the manner in which the change 
in the heart was effected, will, at least, illustrate the subject 
Suppose, then, there is a man in your community forty-live 
years old. In his business operations, he has prospered 
greatly. Success attends all his plans and financial opera- 
tions. He is a true gentleman in the worldly sense. He at- 
tends lairs, takes the premiums; has fine stock, bets on them 
when he can find a gentleman who will bet five hundred or 
a thousand dollars. When he drinks, he goes to an ele 



CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 139 

saloon, where they have imported wines and brandies, and 
only drinks enough to make him feel a little richer and 
sharper in trading than he would otherwise be. Never 
swears, only when angry and " can't help it." He attends 
the races ; goes to the theater ; never gambles, except where 
the first class, in some place of refinement and elegance, en- 
gage in games for large sums. At balls associates with the 
first class and refined. He rides in an elegant carriage 
drawn by superb horses. He assists to build churches, es- 
pecially if he thinks it will enhance the value of his prop- 
erty two or three times as much as he gives; gives a little to 
the poor, but don't see any use in being poor. He never 
|j goes to meeting, except on some extraordinary occasion; but 
has no use for preachers, Bibles, and churches. They may 
be of some service to moralize and keep down ignorant and 
vicious people. Thus a rich and successful operator goes 
through the world, and to the eternal judgment, making 
money, seeking pleasure, and thoughtless about his soul and 
his relation to God. 

In the midst of this mad career, the Lord puts his hand 
on a little son of seven years, and after some fifteen days of 
terrible suffering, the precious and innocent child breathes 
the last breath, struggles the last time, and closes its eyes 
in death. He stood over and ministered to the little sufferer 
till the last struggle was over, and saw it sink away in 
death. Many times already he had planned for the educa- 
tion of that child in some fine university and thought of the 
property he would give him, but alas ! he is gone. His breast 
swells, he heaves a deep sigh, and groans inexpressibly. 
Secretly, he inquires, "What is the meaning of all this?" 
Down he sinks, with his heart broken. The world appears 
now to be one vast gloom. A new theme has come up for 
his consideration, and one that can not be put off. Arrange- 
ments for the funeral, the coffin, cemetery, and grave are 



140 CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 

the matters that now rush up before him. In awful solemnity 
and inexpressible grief they are considered. But now what 
is to be done ? A preacher must be had and a funeral ser- 
mon must be preached, but what preacher shall be had? 
He knows nothing of the merits of preachers or churches ; 
but he had a grandfather or a grandmother that belonged 
to some popular Church, and if he leans at all, it is toward 
that Church and preacher. He remembers how said preacher 
entered the " sacred desk " with a black robe on, in a very 
solemn manner, with other evidences of wisdom, piety, and 
orthodoxy. It is decided that he is the man to preach the 
funeral sermon. He is sent for, comes, and preaches the 
sermon. 

The heart of the afflicted man has become tender, and is 
susceptible of good impressions. He is willing to hear I 
something about the soul and the other world. He is sat- 
isfied that his little child has gone to rest. In the sermon 
the preacher repeats the words : " What shall it profit a 
man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own 
soul?" What an awful question ! He meditates on it, and, 
in inexpressible grief, looks back at his effort to gain the 
world, or as large a share of it as possible. He looks at 
the other part of it, losing his own soul/ Is it possible 
that a man may lose his own soul? 

The funeral is over. He and his wife return to their fine 
mansion. But pride is stricken down. Their hearts are 
broken. All is gloom. The sweet voice of a dear little son 
is heard no more. His quick step is no more heard. His 
little toys are found and laid carefully away as mementoes. 
He inquires, " Wife, where is that scripture quoted by the 
preacher ? " He can not repeat it, but gives her some idea 
of it. She knows not where it is, but after a long search, 
they find and read it many times over : " What shall it 
profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his 






CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 141 

own soul ? " They sit and weep over it. " Shall we," said 
he, " in our stretch to gain this world, lose our own souls f " 
This theme engages their attention much of the time till the 
next Lord's day. By this time they are both anxious to at- 
tend meeting. In the discourse, the preacher repeats the 
words : " The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is 
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." In his mind 
he repeats the words, " the wages of sin is death." " Is it 
possible," says he, " that this is the wages for which I have 
been working all my life ? " He ponders this in his mind 
during the week, and commences reading his Bible and talk- 
ing of what he reads, in his family. He longs for the next 
Lord's day, that he may hear preaching again. You can see 
now that he is changing rapidly. He attends meeting again, 
and the preacher quotes the words : " These shall go away 
into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life 
eternal." This strikes down deep into his heart. "And," 
he exclaims, "is this the end to which I am coming?" 
Thus he continues on, week after week, struggling under 
the power of faith. He now is reading and talking about 
religion much of his time, and inviting religious people 
home with him. He begins to approach the preacher, and 
invites him to visit him, and to find his chief delight in 
'religious conversation. 

About this time, one of his former associates informs 
him of some great races soon to come off, and invites him to 
accompany them. He replies kindly but very decidedly, 
"I shall not be there." Another invites him to attend a 
great ball, soon to come oif. He replies, with decision, " I 
shall not be there." All such follies and vanities have lost 
their attraction to him. The change that he has undergone 
is so great, that the amusements and pleasures, as he once 
called them, not only have no attraction for him, but would 
make him unhappy if he were where they are. He has no 



142 CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 

taste or relish for them. The love for them is utterly de- 
stined in his heart. The matters of the kingdom of God 
are opening up to him. His soul is now seeking rest, 
peace and joy in the things of God. His moral sensibili- 
ties are all alive and shocked at the thought of vanities and 
follies such as here alluded to. Truly can he now say, 
"The things I once loved I now hate, and the things I 
once hated I now love." This is what is meant in this 
discourse by "a change of heart" — such a change as 
destroys the love of sin in the heart and plants the love of 
God in its -place. This would be received as a divine 
change of heart in any church in the land. The affections 
are changed from the love of the world to the love of 
God. As the popular style of expressing it is, " his feelings 
are changed." 

One grand mistake, very current at the present time, is 
to regard this change in the heart and, as they say, " in the 
feelings," as an evidence of pardon I It is no evidence of 
pardon, nor of acceptance with God. Pardon is not a 
change in us, but an act of the pardoning power in heaven 
for us. AVe do not feel pardon in us, as it is not in vs, but 
done in heaven for us. In time of the war, a man was con- 
demned to be shot, and the day set for the execution. His 
friends sent a petition to the President to pardon him. No 
reply came, and the general expectation was that he would 
be executed. His wife took cars and went in person, to 
make her plea for pardon. She obtained admittance to the 
President's apartment, and as she entered his room, she 
shrieked out, "O, my husband ! " The President took her 
by the arm, raised her up, and inquired, " Madam, what of 
your husband ? " She exclaimed, " My husband is con- 
demned to be shot, and I have come to seek and obtain 
pardon for him." The President wiped away his tears and 
invited her to be seated, adding, " Your husband shall be 



CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 143 

pardoned." She instantly sprang to her feet, thanked him 
from the depths of her heart, and praised God. But her 
husband did not rejoice yet, because this work was not go- 
ing on in him, but in Washington for him. The pardon was 
written out and handed to his wife. She hasted to the tele- 
graph office and dispatched to a friend near the prison of 
her husband, in the words, "I have obtained a pardon for 
my husband. " Still the husband felt no pardon, and did 
not rejoice. The dispatch was soon read to him, and he then 
wept tears of inexpressible joy, though yet bound in prison, 
and praised God for the pardon that had been obtained. 

The change in the heart of the sinner, as described in this 
discourse, is not pardon, nor an evidence of pardon, but a 
change in his heart, preparing him in heart for pardon. 
This change, then, is here taken for just what it is, no more, 
no less. The heart is turned to the Lord. He is now right 
in heart. This is the first distinct divine change. 

III. The next distinct divine change, is a divine change 
in the life. All the change a man can have in his heart 
amounts to nothing, unless there is a corresponding change 
in his life. The Lord's appointment to produce this, is re- 
pentance. Repentance is a change in the mind or purpose. 
AVhen this repentance is what it ought to be, and what must 
be, to be acceptable to the Lord, it is a change of mind or 
purpose sufficient to result in a change of life, or in a ref- 
ormation of life. Repentance does not change the past life. 
This is beyond the reach of the sinner. Nothing short of 
the hand of God can change the past life. Pardon separates 
the sinner from the past life, all its guilt, and the consequences 
that would follow in the world to come without pardon. 
The penitent regrets the past life, sorrows for the sins with 
which it is filled up, and grieves over them, but this in no 
way changes his relation to the past life. Nothing but an 
act of mercy from the Sovereign, in graciously granting par- 



144 CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 

don, can change the sinner's relation to his past sins. This 
is not repentance. Repentance looks to the future life. 
When it is genuine, such as it must be in order to be ac- 
ceptable to God, it is a change of mind or purpose so great 
as to result in a change in life for the time to come. It looks 
forward and promises to cover the whole future life, while 
pardon looks back and covers the whole of the past life, 
saving him from the past as repentance does from the future. 
Tli is repentance prepares the sinner in life or in character 
for pardon, but is not pardon itself. When the sinner is 
changed in heart, so that the love of sin is destroyed in his 
soul and the love of God established in him, and so changed 
in his mind as to destroy the practice of sin, as to induce 
him to cease to do evil and learn to do well — to desire from 
his heart to do the will of God — to hunger and thirst after 
righteousness — he is a proper subject for pardon. 

IV. Though the sinner is now changed in his heart and 
life, the love and practice of sin both destroyed in him, there 
is yet no change in his relation. He is still in the same 
state. He is greatly changed, but the relation is not changed. 
The change, so far, is only in him, not in the relation, at all. 
Being now changed in heart and life, and thus fitted for the 
new relation, he is now a proper subject for a new state or 
relation. What is it, then, that transfers the person into the 
new state or relation; the person whose heart has been 
changed by faith, and whose life has been changed bv re- 
pentance? Immersion into the name of the Father, and of 
the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is the divine appointment 
to change the state or relation. Immersion does not change 
the heart nor the life, but the state or relation of the per- 
son whose heart and life have been changed by faith and 
repentance. This accounts lor one trouble that many people 
find. They find many good people who have never been 
immersed, and many bad people who have been immersed. 



CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 145 

This is a plain matter. Immersion does not make them 
good. It changes neither their hearts nor lives. If persons 
are immersed who have not the faith to change them in 
heart, or the repentance to change them in life, as, no doubt, 
is the case with many, they will be no better than they were 
before. But that does not prove that the person who is 
changed in heart by faith, and changed in life by repent- 
ance, is in the new state till immersed into Christ, or that 
he need not be immersed into Christ. He is the very per- 
son that ought to be immersed into Christ. 

Some one may inquire, What do you mean by a change 
of state or relation ? The very act itself of entering into the 
kingdom or Church, is what is meant. It is not the change 
in the heart that prepares a man in heart to enter, nor the 
change in life, that prepares a man in life to enter, that is 
here meant by a change in relation, but the act, on the part 
of one already changed in heart and life, of entering into the 
kingdom. Faith changes no relation, but changes or pre- 
pares a man in heart for a change of relation. Repentance 
changes no relation, but prepares a man in life for a change 
in relation. Immersion changes no man's heart or life, but 
changes the state or relation of the believing penitent, trans- 
ferring him into the new state or relation. 

But it is very desirable to have a distinct idea of what is 
meant by this new state. A change of state, is simply to 
change from one state to another. The change alluded to, 
in the state or relation is expressed in several clear pas- 
sages of Scripture, as the following : " Immersed into one 
body" — "immersed into Christ" — "enter into the king- 
dom " — " immersing them into the name of the Father, and 
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Each of these expres- 
sions has the idea of transition from one state to another. 
The transition is into a state of justification. Every man 
immersed into one body is in a justified state. "Immersed 
13 



146 CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 

into Christ" amounts to the same thing. To "enter into 
the kingdom of God," amounts to the same, for all who 
enter into the kingdom of God are justified, and none wlio 
do not enter into the kingdom of God are justified. All 
believing penitents, immersed into the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, are in the kingdom, 
in one body, in Christ, in a state of justification. When 
the Lord says, " He who believes and is immersed shall be 
saved," it is equivalent to he who believes and is immersed 
shall be pardoned or justified. When he says, "Except a 
man be born of water and the Spirit, he can not enter into 
the kingdom of God," the amount of it is the same as if he 
had said, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit 
he can not enter into the body of Christ or be pardoned. 
A man can be changed in heart, be good in heart, and not 
be in the kingdom of God. He can be good in life and 
not be in the kingdom of God; but no matter how good he 
is in heart and life, he is not in the kingdom or body of 
Christ unless immersed into the body. Immersion into the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 
on the part of a believing penitent, is the visible act, in 
which he is transferred from one kingdom to another. Be- 
fore this act, though he may be prepared in heart and life 
to enter, he is out of the body or kingdom ; after this act, 
he is in the body or kingdom. 

No two persons can properly enter the marriage relation 
without three similar changes. 1. A change in heart. 2. 
A change in the life. 3. A change in the relation or state. 
In the acquaintance the parties form, the faith or confidence 
in each other becomes such as to change their hearts or affec- 
tions. Here there is a change in their feelings, and the de- 
sire to enter the marriage relation is established. This is 
followed by a visible change in their lives. A series of 
preparations for an anticipated new relation commences. 



CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 147 

They are still single, notwithstanding the change in heart 
and life. The time is appointed and the marriage ceremony- 
is performed. Before that ceremony they were each in a 
single state. Now they are married, the state is changed. 
When did they enter the marriage covenant? When did 
they enter the new state? AVhen their hearts and feelings 
were changed? Certainly not. When their lives were 
changed and a change was seen in their actions? By no 
means. But when the marriage ceremony was pronounced. 
This is the time when they entered the new relation. The 
whole relationship throughout the entire train of connec- 
tions, on both sides, was changed the moment that ceremony 
was pronounced. It did not change their hearts or lives, 
make them any better, or love any more ardently, but it 
changed the relation. The marriage is not dated from the 
time of the first change they experienced in their hearts, nor 
from the time of the first change in their lives, but from the 
time when the marriage ceremony was performed. If the 
gentleman is worth a million of money, and falls dead one 
minute before the ceremony would have been performed, the 
lady is not legally entitled to one dollar interest in his es- 
tate. If he falls dead one minute after the ceremony is pro- 
nounced, she has a life interest in it. There is something 
in an " external performance," an " outward act." The 
changes in the heart and life were necessary, and they were 
not prepared to enter the new relation without those changes, 
but the act of entering was a separate thing. So the changes 
in the heart and life of the sinner are necessary, and he would 
not be prepared to enter into the kingdom of God without 
these changes, or to enjoy the kingdom when in it, but they 
only prepare him to enter, and do not transfer him into the 
kingdom. And in like manner, immersion into the name 
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, of a 
penitent believer, has no tendency to change the heart, and 



148 CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 

is not designed for that purpose, but is solely to change the 
relation. In it the proper subject is transferred "into the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," 
"into Christ," "into one body," "into the kingdom," into 
a state of justification or pardon. 

The person, then, being turned to the Lord in heart by 
faith, in life by repentance, and in his relation by immer- 
sion, is, in heart, and life, and relation a new creature. 

It is of great advantage, in looking at all subjects, to 
keep the items all distinct. Men sometimes say, the Lord 
gives faith. This is true in a certain sense, but not the 
sense generally intended. In creating man, he gave him 
intelligence, or the ability to believe facts on credible testi- 
mony. He gave us the Gospel ; sent men to preach it to 
us, that we might hear and believe it. When nieu ask 
whether they can believe in and of themselves, if they mean 
without the facts given to believe, or the Gospel that briugs 
them to us, they should be answered that they can not. But 
if they mean to inquire, whether a man can believe the Gos- 
pel when preached to him, without some supernatural power 
performed directly on him, to enable him to believe, or on 
the Gospel, to make it believable, they should be answered, 
he can. If he can not, he can not be justly condemned for 
not believing. The part, then, the Lord performs in mak- 
ing a believer, is in giving a man the Gospel, which he can 
believe. Pie will, therefore, condemn him for not believing. 

The part that believing performs, in preparing a man for 
the enjoyment of God, is in changing his heart, thus de- 
stroying the love of sin and establishing the love of God in 
him. 

The part that repentance performs, is in changing his 
life ; destroying the practice of sin for the future. 

The part that immersion performs, is in changing the 
state or relation of the man previously prepared in heart by 



CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 149 

faith, and in life by repentance, for the kingdom of God. 
He is immersed into the name, the body or kingdom. 

Pardon is not done in the sinner, in the water, nor on 
earth, but in heaven, for the sinner, separating him forever 
from all past sins, and receiving him as innocent, as if he 
had never sinned. 

The impartation of the Holy Spirit, is the consummation 
in turning to God. Because you are sons, he has sent 
forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, saying, Father, 
Father. 

Now, is Peter the same in Solomon's porch as Peter on 
Pentecost? Where did he begin on Pentecost? He be- 
gan by preaching the Gospel. He did the same in Solo- 
mon's porch. On Pentecost, when they heard the Gospel 
preached, they were cut to the heart. They would not 
have been cut to the heart if they had not believed. 
When he made his appeal in Solomon's porch, upon the 
healing of the cripple, they heard and believed. On Pen- 
tecost, he commanded them to repent. He did the same 
in Solomon's porch. On Pentecost he commanded them 
to be immersed in the name of Jesus Christ for the re- 
mission of sins. Instead of this, he commanded them, in 
Solomon's porch, to " be converted," as it reads in the com- 
mon version, or " turn," as it reads in both the New Trans- 
lation, by Anderson, and the Eevised Version, by the Bible 
Union, " that your sins may be blotted out." There will 
be no difficulty in seeing that " the remission of sins," and 
" sins blotted out," amount to the same. But some will be 
troubled to see how " be immersed " and " be converted," 
or "turn," amount to the same. Yet this is the case. 
"Be immersed," is a literal command. There is nothing 
figurative about it. But the command, in Solomon's porch, 
to "turn," puts the result accomplished in immersion for 
immersion itself. These persons were already turned in 



150 CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 

heart bv faith, and they are, in the connection, commanded 
to repent, which turns or changes the life. There was 
nothing remaining to turn or change but the relation. 
This was the turning commanded, and as this is effected in 
immersion, the command here amounted to the same as the 
command to be immersed on Pentecost. That on Pente- 
cost was "in order to the remission of sins;" and that in 
Solomon's porch, "that your sins may be blotted out." On 
Pentecost he says, "and you shall receive the gift of the 
Holy Spirit;" and in Solomon's Porch, he has "the times 
of refreshing from the presence of the Lord;" the same, 
expressed in different words. 

A man says, " That is all clear enough, but I am afraid I 
have not the right kind of change of heart." The following 
case will illustrate a proper change in the heart, and the 
Lord's mercy and love in receiving the penitent sinner when 
he turns to Him : A young man ran off from his father ami 
mother, and was absent a year before they knew where he 
had gone. Many prayers had fervently gone up to heaven 
for him, many tears had been shed over him, and many 
long and solemn conversations had been held, by an anxious 
father and mother, about him. After about a year, a friend 
found him in California, and, knowing the anxiety about 
him, immediately wrote his father a letter, informing him 
where he could write to him. The father received the let- 
ter, and lost no time in writing his son. The young man 
took the letter from the office and said, when he saw 7 his 
father's handwriting, it moved him to his heart. But he 
determined to read it, as he expressed it, " like a man," 
and not shed any tears over it, as he thought "weak peo- 
ple " do. He decided, however, not to read it till he was 
alone. As he was returning, he stopped in a path in the 
dense forest, and opened the letter, nerving himself against 
weeping. He thought he was succeeding finely as he read 



CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 151 

down through the main body of the letter, as he restrained 
all his tears. At the bottom he saw a j}ostscript, in some- 
thing like the following words: "My dear son, it is late 
at night, and your dear mother is sitting by my side, bathed 
in tears, weeping over you." His manliness, as he falsely 
styled it, gave way, and he sank down by the path and 
wept like a child. Immediately he rose up, and resolved, 
"I will go home to my father and mother." This illus- 
trates the right change of heart when the sinner resolves 
to turn and go home. 

The balance of the history of the case, illustrates the 
mercy and goodness of God in receiving the sinner when 
he turns. As early as possible, he started homeward, and 
reached his father's house one morning at eight o'clock, and 
rapped at the door. The father, not knowing that his son 
was within three thousand miles from home, opened the 
door, and saw his son. The young man stretched forth his 
hand and exclaimed, "O, father, can you forgive me?" 
The father's heart melted ; he sprang forth and embraced 
him, replying, " With all my heart, I forgive you, my dear 
child." In a moment he was brought into the house, and, 
looking into another apartment, he saw the mother, who 
wept while that letter was being written, approaching, when 
he cried out, " O, mother, can you forgive me ? " You 
know how a good mother can forgive ! Young man, your 
mother stands next to God. If you do so badly that your 
mother can not forgive you, there is but one more you can 
go to. Your mother will forgive when no other human 
being will forgive. The mother, in an ecstasy, sprang for- 
ward and clasped her boy in her arms, exclaiming, "With 
all my heart, my dear child, I forgive you." " So there is 
joy in heaven among the angels of God when one sinner 
repents," says Jesus. How kind and compassionate is our 
heavenly Father, against whom we have sinned, not only 



152 CONVERSION, OR TURNING TO GOD. 

one year, but every year of our life, till we turned to the 
Lord, to forgive all our sins — blot them from the book of 
remembrance and remember them no more forever — not 
even permit them to be mentioned ; and how wonderfully 
ungrateful must man be to refuse to come and accept this 
most gracious pardon, when freely and mercifully offered ! 
And when we remember that he stands all the day long, 
stretching forth his hands to a gainsaying and disobedient 
people, the ingratitude is heightened if men and women re- 
fuse. By all his tender mercies, then ; his goodness, his 
great love; his wonderful compassion; by the value of your 
precious souls ; by the sufferings of the bleeding, dying Sa- 
vior ; the shame and indignation heaped on him, when he 
bore our sins on the cross ; by all that is lovely and endear- 
ing, be persuaded to turn to the Lord and live forever. 



SERMON, No. VII. 

THEHE.-THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 

Text— "AH scripture given by inspiration of God, is profitable for teaching, 
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the 
man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished for every good work." 
—2 Tim. iii : 16. 

The leading theme of this discourse, is, the adaptation of 
the Bible to man. If it could be shown that the Bible 
is not adapted to man — that the author of it did not com- 
prehend man's nature, the exigencies of his being, the de- 
mands of his existence, and had not met them in the Bible, 
it would be a stronger argument against its claims to be 
divine than any one ever offered, and, no doubt, a better one 
than will ever be offered. On the other hand, if it can be 
shown that the Bible is adapted to man — that the author 
of it knew what was in man, fully comprehended his na- 
ture, all his wants, the demands of his existence, and com- 
pletely provided for them in the Bible, it furnishes a con- 
clusive argument in favor of its divine authority. In this 
discourse, the ground is taken that the Bible, as it is, is 
adapted to man as he is. To explain what is meant by 
this, a fuller statement is demanded. The Bible, as it is, 
means the Bible as every man has it, without any miracle 
performed on it since it was given to the world to give it 
life or power, to make it intelligible or credible — simply the 

(153) 



154 THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 

Bible, printed in every man's own language. Man, as he is, 
means man as he now exists, without any miracle performed 
on him, any new faculties given him, any supernatural 
quickening, awakening, or enlightening, to enable him to 
believe the Bible. It is here claimed that no immediate 
power from God is demanded to give the Bible life, power, 
or credibility ; nor to give man intelligence, new faculties, 
or ability ; but that man, as he is, when he has the Bible in 
his own language, can believe it, as it is, to the saving of 
his own soul. Hence you never read of any holy man, in 
apostolic times, praying to the Lord to give his word power, 
to accompany it with an immediate energy; to infuse life 
into it, quicken it, or make it intelligible. Nor do you ever 
read of any holy man of that day praying to the Lord for 
the impartation of immediate power, intelligence, new fac- 
ulties, or ability to enable the sinner to understand the 
word of God and believe it. 

There are some leading and important questions that 
come into the minds of all thinking persons. Some of these 
are put to parents, school teachers, and Sunday-school teach- 
ers, by the children ; such, for instance, as the following : 
1. Why did the Lord create us? 2. What did the Lord 
come into the world for? 3. What did the Lord give us 
the Bible for? These are important questions, and should 
be carefully answered, as they lie at the foundation of cor- 
rect religious knowledge. 

1. Why did the Lord create us? In their early studies, 
of cur readers may have met with a little work, called 
the "Shorter Catechism." As now recollected, the first ques- 
tion in it is, "What is the chief end of man?" This is 
an important question. What is the chief end, object, or 
purpose of man's existence ? What is or was the chief pur- 
pose or object of the Lord in creating man? The answer 
given in the Catechism is " To glorify God and enjoy him 



THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 155 

forever." This is a correct answer and an intelligible one. 
The chief purpose of God in creating man was that he 
might glorify God and enjoy him forever. No matter if 
you can not reconcile this with another part of the Cate- 
chism : it is true, nevertheless. Man was created for a high 
and noble purpose, and when he does not attain to it, he 
fails by his own perversity. 

]S T o doubt some are saying they prefer Scripture — that 
the Catechism is not synonymous with Scripture, in their 
estimation. To the Scriptures, then, turn : " Thou hast 
made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned 
him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have do- 
minion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all 
things under his feet." — Ps. viii : 5, 6. What does the 
sweet singer of Israel say the Lord made man for ? He 
made him to have dominion, and put him over the works 
of his hands. He created man for no ignoble purpose — no 
low and servile end ; but intended him to have an exalted 
position — to have glory and honor — to be placed over the 
works of the hands of God. All men know that wonderful 
something exists in them — no matter what you call it — that 
never was fully satisfied with what they are and what they 
have. There is continually in them that craving, aspiring 
and unsatisfied something, reaching forward, looking ahead, 
anticipating, hoping for and desiring happiness never yet 
attained. Why is this? Is it not that man was created 
for something better than he has ever reached — that, by 
some means, he has fallen short and needs lifting up ? The 
All-wise Creator has certainly not created a desire for hap- 
piness, or for glory and honor, and made no provision for 
it. God made man for dominion, for glory and honor, and 
has provided dominion, and glory, and honor for him. If 
man does not attain to it, the reason is in his own pervers- 
ity in thwarting the benevolent purpose of God, and thus 



156 THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 

disqualifying him for the enjoyment of the blessings pro- 
vided for him. 

It may be that some man will say that a finite creature, 
in a finite state, has no ability to thwart the benevolent pur- 
pose of God and deprive himself of happiness which the 
Lord provided for him. Are you sure of that ? Can not 
a man destroy his health by excessive eating, drinking, and 
other dissipations, so that he can not enjoy food, drink, and 
sleep? Many have experienced this to their sorrow. Can 
not men destroy and corrupt themselves to such an extent 
that they can not enjoy good society, even if admitted into 
it? Certainly they can. If men will not read of God, thus 
keeping the company of the prophets, the apostles, evangel- 
ists and saints of Bible times ; will not associate with the 
pure and the holy, the good and the true, of our own time, 
but associate with the low, the corrupt, the enemies of the 
Bible, will they not so pervert their nature, destroy them- 
selves, and become so averse to God and all that is godlike, 
that they could not enjoy God, Christ, angels, or saints, if 
they were in heaven? Men, by their perversity and dissi- 
pation, have destroyed their hearing, their sight, their appe- 
tite, and even their reason, and thus rendered themselves 
incapable of enjoying the blessings which God has graciously 
and freely provided for them in the world. They may, and 
many are, doing the same in reference to the world to 
come. 

In Paul's address, that he delivered on Mars' Hill, in 
Athens, in the presence of the most distinguished judges 
and philosophers, is found a fine statement touching the 
purpose of God in creating man. He says, "He has made 
of one blood every nation of men, that they might dwell on 
all the face of the earth, having marked out their appointed 
times, and the bounds of their dwelling; that they might 
seek for God, if perhaps they would feel after him, and find 



THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 157 

him, although, indeed, he is not far from every one of us." 
— Acts xvii: 26, 27. The Lord anticipated the fall when 
he created man, and made him that he might seek the Lord 
and find him. This is true of the whole race. All were 
created that they might seek God and find him — that they 
might have dominion — that they might glorify God and 
enjoy him forever. 

What did the Lord come into this world for ? " God 
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but 
that the world, through him, might be saved." He did not 
send his Son to irresistibly save any body, but that the 
world through him might be saved. He reprobated none 
by any original decree, or decree before the world was, so 
that they can not be 'saved! We repeat, the Lord "came 
into the world, that the world, through him, might be 
saved." This was the object or purpose of his coming. He 
thus gave the world the privilege of being saved. It was 
his most gracious and benevolent design in coming into 
this world, and perfectly accords with his design in creating 
man. 

What did God give the Scriptures for? "All Scripture 
is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable." Profit- 
able for what ? If one were to notice the popular custom 
of the preachers, he might infer that the Scriptures were 
given that they might have a convenient book from which 
to get texts, for this is one use made of them. But Paul 
does not say the Scriptures are profitable for that use. If 
one were to look again, he might suppose that the Lord de- 
signed the Scripture as proof of the doctrines and com- 
mandments of men, for a man in one church is busily 
engaged in quoting Scripture to prove Universalism, in an- 
other Unitarianism, in another Trinitarianism, in another 
Calvinism, in another Armenianism. If this was the pur- 
pose of God in giving us the Scriptures, it is certain that the 



158 THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 

apostles and first Christians never so understood it. They 
never used them for any such purpose. What, then, does 
Paul say they are profitable for ? They are profitable for 
doctrine or for teaching. Ls it not astonishing that men 
should be hesitating about what doctrine to adopt, and de- 
bating about what the true doctrine is, when the apostle 
so clearly states, that "all Scripture is given by inspiration 
of God and is profitable for doctrine or teaching." He does 
not say it is profitable to prove our doctrine by, but it is the 
doctrine itself. There certainly need be no further confusion 
about which the true doctrine is. If God gave the Scrip- 
tures for doctrine, take them and stand by them as the doc- 
trine or teaching of the Lord. You will have the true 
doctrine, the doctrine admitted to be true by all, and the 
only true doctrine. This is the doctrine for the people of 
God — the disciples of Jesus. They do not desire to be an- 
noyed by being called on to prove their doctrine every 
week or month, and they therefore take the Scriptures given 
by inspiration of God, divinely declared to be profitable for 
doctrine or teaching, and proved true in the time of the 
apostles and not denied by any but open skeptics. These 
Scriptures are profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, in- 
struction in righteousness, that the man of God may be per- 
fect, thoroughly furnished for every good work. AVhat 
more can any man want? 

The Lord created man that he might glorify and enjoy God 
forever; that he might have dominion, glory, and honor; 
that he might seek the Lord and find him. Jesus came into 
the world that the world, through him, might be saved ; and 
the Scriptures are profitable for doctrine, to perfect the man 
of God, and thus thoroughly furnish him for every good 
work. This all agrees with the one great and benevolent de- 
sign of the Lord to open the way for the happiness of man. 
How grateful he should be for those benevolent provisions ! 



THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 159 

The Scriptures, given for and adapted to man, have su- 
preme ascendancy over all human systems — all creeds, con- 
fessions, and disciplines ever made by uninspired men. 
This lofty and sublime claim of the Scriptures can not be 
treated here except in a single particular, to wit, their broad 
and extended benevolence, when compared with all the creeds 
of men. Suppose, for illustration, a man should approach 
you with one of the best of all the creeds made by uninspired 
men, and you inquire of him : Who made your book ? He 
replies: Our great and good men. You proceed: Who did 
they make it for? He answers: For us. You inquire: 
Who do you mean by that narrow word " us ? " He an- 
swers : Our church. You press the matter: Who do you 
mean by that narrow expression " Our church ? " He ex- 
plains : Our brethren. You inquire : Are there no good 
people only those whom you designate " us," " our church," 
"our brethren?" He replies: Certainly, there are many 
others, I doubt not, just as good. You proceed : And was 
not your book made for them? Certainly not, he replies. 
Does not your book propose any good thing, or any blessing, 
for any only those you call " us," " our church," " our breth- 
ren?" you inquire. He honestly and truthfully replies: 
No ; it was not made for any body but us, and, of course, 
contains no blessing for any body else. 

This is enough against this book and all of the same kind. 
It is useless to look through them, or to talk of the good 
things contained in them, or the proportion of truth in them. 
There is not a grain of benevolence in them for any of the 
human race outside of the parties for which they were made. 
What claim, then, has such a book on the attention of man- 
kind ? It is nothing but a partisan concern — not made for 
mankind, but for a party; not intended to bless the human 
race, but a party ; not made with an eye to the happiness of 
the world, but merely with an eye to the interests of a party. 



160 THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 

It has not one spark of divine benevolence, but is confined 
to the narrowness and selfishness of a religious faction, sepa- 
rated from other religious people by a few human opinions. 
This is enough against books of this kind. They are too 
narrow, circumscribed, and limited in their benevolence. 
Men whose souls have been impressed by the widely-ex- 
panded benevolence of the Bible, if for no other reason, on 
account of their narrowness, selfishness, and partisan charac- 
ter, will go against all such books, living and dying. 

Now, in contrast with this, open the Lord's book and read 
the promise to Abraham — Gen. xxii: 18 : u In thee shall all 
nations be blessed." This promise contained Christ, the 
Gospel, the Church — in one word, the blessing of the entire 
new institution. Who did our heavenly Father intend the 
blessing of this promise or the new institution for? All the 
nations of the earth. It is not for a party, a section, or fac- 
tion, but for the human race. Paul, in commenting on this 
blessing of the Gospel, or the new institution, styles it " the 
grace of God," and says, it " has appeared to all men." See 
Titus ii : 11. In the same spirit, Isaiah, looking down 
through long centuries to the Messiah, says, " He shall be 
set for salvation to the ends of the earth." When the Savior 
was born, the angels sang, " We bring you good news of 
great joy, which shall be to all people." See Luke xi : 10. 
The Lord's benevolence is not confined to a party, to any one 
nation or people, but is to, and for, all people. Hence, in 
the commission, the Lord commanded the Gospel to be 
preached to every creature; to all nations; and Peter, on the 
first opening out of this great work, said, " The promise is 
to you, and to your children, and to all them that are far 
off." This comprehensive and glorious benevolence is in 
perfect keeping with what has been said in this discourse, 
of the purpose of God in creating man, in sending the Mes- 
siah into the world, and giving us the Scriptures. 



THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 161 

This grand system of benevolence and humanity, secured 
to the world by our most gracious and merciful heavenly 
Father, has auother feature of immense importance that 
must be noticed here, viz. : It has nothing sectional in it. 
It is not for Eastern, Western, Northern, nor Southern 
people, in any exclusive sense; but for all people, of all sec- 
tions, all nations and languages, alike. It makes no distinc- 
tion on account of blood or section of country. The preacher 
with the love of Jesus, when he meets a human being, need 
not ask what country he is of, or what nation, but may at 
once proceed to communicate the good news of the kingdom. 
God has shown him that he should " call no man common," 
but that, in every nation, and in " all the world," " he who 
fears God and works righteousness is accepted with him." 
He is actuated by the highest, the noblest, and broadest be- 
nevolence — literally, the benevolence of God, extending to the 
whole race of man. 

What a pity it is, what a misfortune to the human race, 
that the system which the Lord has freely given to all men, 
should have been checked and hindered in its work by 
speculations and sophistical theories of men. Yet it must 
be conceded, that such has been, and is the case. One 
speculative theory must be mentioned here, as a sample. 
Though all men of ordinary intelligence know that they are 
daily believing certain things ; believing the words of men — 
uninspired men; relying on them, and acting from their 
faith, where vast amounts of property and money are in- 
volved, there are some men, of fine intelligence in other 
matters, that claim that they are so peculiarly organized that 
they can not believe. They claim that they are not credu- 
lous, as other men. In hearing such men talk, we are led 
to pity them as the unfortunates of humanity. Men so pe- 
culiarly organized that they have no credulity ! can not 
credit truth ! can not believe facts ! That is singular in the 
14 



162 THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 

extreme ! Such men could not act as magistrates, for they 
could not believe the testimony of witnesses. They could 
not act as jurors, for they could not believe testimony, and 
decide according to law and testimony. They could not act 
as judges, for judges must be men who can believe testimony, 
and act on it. They can not act as physicians, for, when 
sent for, they can not believe that any body is sick, and will 
not go. It would be difficult to think of any place for men 
thus peculiarly organized, unless it would be in some benevo- 
lent asylum, for they certainly could not be expected to get 
a living in this world. 

The truth in the matter is, that all men, of even common 
intelligence, can believe and do believe y as easily as they can 
and do exercise any function of soul or body. But the will 
has some control over the faith of men. They believe what 
they are willing to believe much more readily, or with much 
less testimony, than they do what they are not willing to 
believe. But for a man to be so credulous as to be gulled 
into the duplicity that he can not believe his God, when he 
knows that he can believe men, is a little too credulous for a 
Christian. The true state of the case is, that the very men 
who are trying to make the impression that they have no 
credulity, are the most gullible men of these times, and, 
positively, give credit to, and countenance some of, the most 
incredible, unlikely, and unreasonable things ever reported. 
They are the most easily-imposed-on, deceived, and deluded 
men in the world. The best apology out for them is, that 
some unenlightened preachers have taught that man, un re- 
generated, can not believe. But if they were only half as 
industrious in scanning such sophistries as they are in fram- 
ing excuses for not believing the Bible, they would soon 
discover the fallacy. 

But another man comes up from another angle, with a 
difficulty of a different nature from the one just considered. 



THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 163 

He takes broader ground, and maintains that the unregener- 
ate man can do nothing — has no ability to do any thing. He 
claims that he has many profoundly-learned and able preach- 
ers on his side. He and the preachers, he claims, even quote 
Scripture to prove that the sinner can do nothing. They 
have, thousands of times, quoted the words : " Stand still 
and see the salvation of the Lord/' to prove their position. 
But there are several things here that ruin their theory : 
1. The command, " Stand still," could not consistently be 
given to persons who have no ability. It requires some 
ability to stand still. A man with no ability to do any thing 
can not stand still. A dead man can not stand. 2. The 
command, to " see the salvation of the Lord," implies some 
ability. A man with no ability can not see. It is implied, 
in this instance, that those who were the subjects of the com- 
mand had not only ability to see common things, but to see 
" the salvation of the Lord." 3. A careful discrimination 
should constantly be made between seeing the salvation of 
the Lord and obtaining it. The command is not to stand 
still and obtain the salvation of the Lord, but see it. 4. An- 
other thing of importance with intelligent people is in refer- 
ence to where the passage may be found. It is generally 
quoted by the class in question, when they are treating the 
subject of conversion. Was the language uttered in refer- 
ence to the conversion of sinners ? Did the apostles say to 
sinners, "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord?" 
They never did. This is not the language of an apostle, nor 
of the New Testament. It is the language of Moses when 
leading the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, and at the 
crossing of the Red Sea. These words are found in Ex. xiv : 
13. The people had ability and obeyed the command of 
Moses, and did literally stand still and see the salvation of 
the Lord. Moses added : " And the Egyptians, whom you 
have seen this day, you shall see them again no more for- 






164 THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 

ever." When the people found the sea before them, and no 
escape to the right or left, and a furious army in their rear, 
they were frightened, and reflected on Moses for involving 
them in their fearful situation. Moses commanded them to 
stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. They obeyed 
the command. They stood still, and saw the sea cleft asun- 
der and a dry passage made for them. But there was not 
one saved yet. They only saw salvation, but had not ob- 
tained it. The Lord next addressed Moses, saying, "Speak 
to the children of Israel, that they go forward." Certainly 
the Lord did not command Moses to say this to people whom 
he knew had no ability — people who could do nothing ! 
What followed? The people demonstrated that they had 
ability — that they could do something. The vast column 
moved forward till all were safely on the other side — every 
soul saved, not by standing still, but by going forward. 
They received the salvation after they went forward, and 
then united in the praises of God. The passage, then, in- 
stead of proving that the persons addressed could not do any 
thing, proves that they could do something, and did it, be- 
fore they were saved. That is not all ; when the people went 
forward, they went forward in immersion, and were "all im- 
mersed into Moses, in the cloud and in the sea." But where 
is the use in arguing with a man so confused and blinded, 
so completely deluded by the wicked one, that though he a 
saying every day of his life, in regard to other matters, "I 
will do this," and " I will not do that," that he argues that 
he can not do awy thing f There is but one step beyond this 
in delusion, and that is, when the adversary has so com- 
pletely deceived a man that he does not believe there is an 
adversary. This is the climax in delusion. A man can 
not go beyond it. 

But more time must not now be consumed with these 
absurd theories. The Bible proceeds with man on the same 



THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 165 

principle as man proceeds with his fellow-man ; or the 
same principle, as all the civil laws in the world — the prin- 
ciple that man can believe and obey. If he could not do 
this, he would not be man. 

The law of Moses was not a universal law; not for all the 
world, but for the nation of Israel. The New Testament is 
adapted to and designed for all the world. It is not simply 
a book for the church, for "us," "our brethren," "our 
church," but for the world. The world is mainly in three 
divisions: The unbelieving; the believing who are not 
Christians; not in Christ, and those in Christ. For these 
three classes the New Testament has also three divisions: 
The four records of testimony concerning Christ by Mat- 
thew, Mark, Luke, and John. These are not, as many style 
them, "four Gospels," nor "the four Gospels," but four 
records of testimony concerning the Messiah, written by 
four different men. These records are all of the same na- 
ture, all on the same subject, and evidently all have the 
same design. When we get the design of one of them, we 
have the design of all. John, the last one, as arranged in 
the volume called the "New Testament," and the one last 
written, informs us what the design was, John xx: 30, 31. 
He says, " Many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence 
of his disciples, which are not written in this book ; but 
these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the 
Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have 
life through his name." No man can state his purpose, in 
writing a book, more clearly than this writer does here, and, 
as before stated, in doing so, he also states the purpose of 
Matthew, Mark, and Luke. That design is, that the reader 
may believe " that Jesus is'the Christ, the Son of God." What- 
ever else the reader may find in these records, he should 
constantly bear in mind that the leading design is that he 
may believe. These records of testimony were not made to 



166 THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 

prove any doctrine or creed in the world, but to lay before 
the reader the evidence concerning Jesus, the Anointed Son 
of God, that he may believe. 

Such being the purpose of these records, how appropriate 
it is that they should appear first in the volume. In this, 
too, this book proves its adaptation to the world as no other 
book in the world does. The apartment for the unbeliever 
meets his eye first, and he finds it adapted to him and pre- 
pared for him. The books that men have made have left 
out this grand department entirely, and passed by the un- 
believing, making no provision for them. The creed-makers 
have been so busily engaged in distinguishing their opinions 
from those differing from them, that they appear to have 
overlooked and passed by the unbelieving part of mankind. 
In the Lord's book, special provision is made for them, and 
it is the first thing. In making a believer there must be two 
things: 1. Something to believe. 2. Credible testimony, 
bringing that something to the human understanding. In 
the case in hand, the Lord has furnished that which is to be 
believed — the truth concerning Jesus, that he is the Christ, 
the Son of the living God. This truth is not always found 
in precisely the same form, or the same words, but always 
amounting to the same. As the Lord stood on the banks 
of the Jordan, the Almighty Father embodied it in the fol- 
lowing words : " This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I 
am well pleased." In the mountain of transfiguration this 
was repeated, and the following added : " Hear you him." 
As in the brief but all-important confession made by Peter, 
Matt, xvi: 16, it reads as follows: "Thou art the Christ, 
the Son of the living God." " On this," the Lord says, " I 
will build my Church," or, "on this rock." This is a very 
perspicuous statement of the central idea of Christ's religion, 
the transcendently important truth, to be believed. It is 
not, Thou art Christ, or Anointed, for others had been an- 






THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 167 

ointed ; but thou art the Anointed, in a much higher sense 
than any other had ever been. It is not " Son of God," nor 
"a Son of God/' for there were other sons of God; but 
" the Son/' in a higher sense than any other. It is not " of 
God/' nor " of a God/' but " of the living God ; transcend- 
ently above all others called God — the Jehovah — THE 
I AM. The truth to be believed is not that Jesus is Christ, 
or Anointed, but " the Christ, the Son of the living God." 
The records of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are four 
records of testimony concerning this great truth. Whoever 
reads these records understanding^, reads them with his eye 
fixed on this all-absorbing question, Is Jesus the Son of the 
living God, as they bear on it from first to last ? 

The Lord having furnished the proposition to be believed, 
and the testimony on which to believe, how should the 
preacher go to work to make believers ? Should he preach a 
sermon on the philosophy of faith ? Certainly not. A ser- 
mon on faith ? By no means. Preaching sermons on faith 
never made a believer in the world. How does a sensible 
attorney make a jury believe? He delivers no speech on 
the philosophy of faith, or on faith. How, then, does he 
make his jury believe ? He calls his witnesses and has them 
give their testimony to the jury. After all the testimony is 
stated, he makes a speech, summing up and applying the 
testimony and the law to the case. How should the preacher 
of Jesus proceed? The people whom he would convince 
are his jury. The testimony found in the records of Mat- 
thew, Mark, Luke, and John, is the testimony he should lay 
before them. He should array it, sum it up, apply it to his 
proposition, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living 
God, showing that it is conclusive. 

To show the nature of this testimony and its tendency, 
when properly used, suppose a Jewish rabbi were to step in 
and say, " Please let me look at your New Testament." A 



168 THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 

copy is handed to him. He reads the title page : " The Xew 
Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." This 
title is not of inspiration and not correct. "New Testament 
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ/' implies an Old Tes- 
tament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Old 
Testament was not given by Christ, but by Moses. 3 1 
was the mediator of the Old Testament, but Christ of the 
Xew. The law, or the first covenant, was by Moses, but 
grace and truth by Jesus Christ. But the Jewish rabbi pro- 
ceeds to look at the Xew Testament. He turns to the first 
of Matthew's record and reads the genealogy of Christ, as 
probably transcribed from the Jewish records, and the first 
thing arresting his attention is the fact, that Jesus of Naz- 
areth was born in the lineage, the line, or family from which 
the Messiah was to come, according to the prophecies. Tins 
strikes his mind with much force. " If you please," says he, 
" let me look a little further." He looks again, and reads 
that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, as clearly predicted by 
one of the prophets, and finds the language of the prophet 
quoted in the narrative. This strikes him with still greater 
force. He reads on, and finds another and a more remark- 
able fact, viz., that he was born of a virgin, and the lan- 
guage of the prophet that had many ages before declared 
that he should be born of a virgin is quoted. This strikes 
his mind with still greater force. He reads again, finding 
the account of the jealousy and persecution of Herod, Jesus 
escaping his wrath by being carried into Egypt, and God 
calling him out of Egypt after the danger had passed away, 
corresponding to the language, " Out of Egypt have I called 
my Son." He reads the examination of the sketch concern- 
ing John the Immerser, and finds an account of the Elijah 
that was to come — that he came according to the prediction 
of the prophet — did the work assigned him — prepared the 
way before the Lord — prepared a people for the Lord. By 



THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 169 

this time his attention is completely engaged, and he is in- 
quiring, "Is it possible that Jesus of Nazareth, whom my 
nation did and still rejects, has entered by the door of proph- 
ecy, and step after step fulfilled the prophecies? Please 
let me examine a little further/' says he. He reads through 
Matthew's record, and is astonished to find some seventy 
predictions of the prophets more or less clearly fulfilled on 
Jesus. His mind is becoming deeply impressed, and the 
question is frequently in his heart: "Have we not rejected 
the true Messiah?" He carefully traces Mark's record 
through. His convictions are deepened and strengthened. 
He traces through Luke's record, and finds corroboration and 
confirmation of what had gone before. He is almost ready 
to yield. He pushes on eagerly through John's testimony, 
and finds other, fuller, and clearer confirmation. He is 
sensibly affected with one of the predictions of Jesus, spoken 
some forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem, viz. : 
" They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away 
captive among all nations ; and Jerusalem shall be trodden 
down by the Gentiles, till the times of the Gentiles be ful- 
filled." Our rabbi revolves this in his mind, and quietly 
reflects on it. " Jesus of Nazareth, whom we Jews rejected, 
uttered this forty years before Jerusalem was destroyed. The 
devoted city was invested with armies, it was destroyed; liter- 
ally buried in ruins ; not one stone left upon another not 
thrown down; the Jews have been led away captive among all 
nations; Jerusalem has been trodden down by the Gentiles for 
ages past. All this was, in one short sentence, in prophecy. 
It is now recorded on the pages of history, and the wonder- 
ful events of this prophecy cover over some eighteen centu- 
ries! I am fully satisfied," he exclaims. " I believe, with 
all my heart, that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son 
of the living God." 

But now, that he has examined these holy records of Mat- 
15 



170 THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 

thew, Mark, Luke, and John, and become a believer, the t 
next thing that opens to his mind is the question, what 
must I do, as a believer, to obtain the mercy and favor of ' j 
that God against whom I have so long and greatly sinned, L 
in my madness and unbelief? " Since this book has led me 
safely on from the cold and cheerless icebergs of unbelief, 
to the bright and glorious hope of the faith of the Messiah, 
I will read on ; it may be that it will lead me safely 
through." He turns over another leaf, to a new depart- 
ment, in the New Testament, erroneously called, in the com- 
mon version, " The Acts of the Apostles." This book is a 
record of acts of apostles ; only some of the acts of some of 
the apostles. But it is more than this ; it is a record of the 
election of Matthias ; the descent of the Holy Spirit ; the 
supernatural endowment of the apostles with power from 
heaven ; their first preaching under the last commission ; the , 
first conversions; the founding of the Church ; a history of j £ 
the apostolic preaching and practice, and some of the first y 
evangelists, in planting and setting churches in order. Our ., 
rabbi reads the first chapter of this book, in which he finds ( 
the account of the election of Matthias to supply the vacancy 
occasioned by the apostasy and fall of Judas from the apos- jj 
tolic office. He finds the college of the apostles thus com- r 
pleted, and all things ready, as Jesus had pointed out before 
he died and after he rose from the dead. He reads into the 
second chapter of Acts, and finds the wonderful account o 
the descent of the Holy Spirit, the endowment of the apostles 
with power, as Jesus had promised, to guide them into all . 
truth. This all comes right to him. He reads Peter's ser- • 
mon, directed to the Jews, to convince them that Jesus is 
the Christ, the Son of the living God. " All this," says he, 
"I believe; but I desire now to know what I must do, as 
a believer, to obtain pardon and become a disciple of Jesus." 
He reads a little farther on, and finds the question from 



THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 171 

those who heard Peter : " Men and brethren what shall we 
do ? " " That," says he, " is the question to which I desire 
an answer." He reads on for the answer: "And Peter 
said to them, Repent, and be immersed, every one of you, 
in the name of Jesus Christ, in order to the remission of 
sins ; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." He 
praises God for the answer. This begins to clear the way 
for him. He reads Peter's discourse in the third chapter of 
Acts, learns what he preached, what the people believed, 
what they were commanded to do, what it was for, what 
they were promised. He reads on, follows Philip down to 
Samaria, noticing the record carefully of all he said, and all 
the people said and did, learning all about it as found in the 

, eighth chapter of Acts, finding where many, both men and 
women, became obedient to the faith. In the latter part of 
this chapter, he finds the account of the conversion of the 
Ethiopian officer. He notices every particular in the case, 
what was preached to him, what he believed, what he did, 
and how he did it. In the ninth chapter he finds the ac- 
count of the conversion of young Saul, the chief of sinners. 

.This case he notices with great care in every particular. 
He proceeds on through the tenth chapter, noticing all that 

• was preached, believed, and done, and all the results, in the 
conversion of the first Gentiles. He reads down through 
the sixteenth chapter, finding the account of the conversion 

* of Lydia and the jailer, and so on through the book, notic- 
ing carefully all that was preached, what was commanded 
to be believed and done, what was believed and done, what 
was promised, what was given, and all about it. 

From this book he learned what a believer must do to 
become a Christian, did it, bowed his soul to God, confessed 
Jesus, was immersed into him, and thus became a disciple. 
He praised God for the book, that found him in the cold 
and gloomy regions of unbelief, and raised up his soul by 



172 THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAX. 

the might)' faith of the Gospel, and thus, when made a 
believer, took him by the hand, and guided him into the 
kingdom of God. But now a new chapter lias come. A 
new want is opened up to him. He wants new directions, 
showing, as he is now a Christian, how to live as a Chris- 
tian or a disciple of Christ. He says, " I have found, by 
perusing my book, all I needed thus far; I will go on, and 
hope I shall find all I need in time to come." He turns 
over another leaf, and comes to Paul's letter to the church 
in Home, and finds that every word in it is addressed to 
Christians, or disciples of Christ, those in Christ, showing 
them how to live as Christians, serve God, and find their 
way home to the everlasting city ; as if God had taken them 
by the hand, and said, " Come, my dear children, and I will 
lead you home." As he reads this letter, he praises God for 
its instructions, comforts, and consolations. He reads Paul's 
two letters to Corinth, and finds every word addressed to 
the saints, the people of God, giving them, as the prophet 
said, " line upon line and precept upon precept," to guide 
them safely home. He reads the letter to Galatians, the 
one to the Ephesians, the one to the Philippians, the one to 
the Colossians, and the two to Thessalonica, and finds that 
all these letters were addressed to the children of God, and ■ 
abounding in exhortations, entreaties, admonitions, warn- 
ings, threatenings, and promises; cheering, comforting, and 
encouraging them on their way to heaven. This tills his 
highest expectations, meets all his wants, and clears his en- 
tire pathway through this life and this world onward to his 
final home. Pie goes on through the two letters to Timo- 
thy, the one to Titus, and the one to Philemon, from the 
apostle Paul, teaching those young men, preachers of the 
Word, how to behave themselves in the house of God. He 
reads through the long and argumentative letter to the He- 
brews, converted Israelites, warning them against apostatiz- 



THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 173 

ing from the faith, from Christ, and returning to the law of 
Moses ; showing that if they forsake Christ, the great sacri- 
ficial offering, that there is no more sacrifice for sins. He 
passes on through the letter of James, the two of Peter, the 
three of John, and one of Jude, and finds all, from Romans 
to Revelation, addressed to the saints, the children of God, 
teaching them how to serve God, how to please him in all 
things as his children, and how to obtain the final and eter- 
nal salvation. 

These holy instructions, " teaching him to live soberly, 
and righteously, and godly in this present world, looking 
for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great 
God and our Savior Jesus Christ," he honestly and faithfully 
follows for forty years. But now he is an old man, and 
bending over his staff. He says, " I have found the Lord's 
book adapted to man. The first department in the four 
records of testimony, by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 
led me to the Lamb of God, and made me a believer on the 
Savior of the world. The second department, Acts of Apos- 
tles, showed me, after I was a believer, the way into the 
kingdom of Christ, to justification or remission of sins. The 
epistles of the apostles, addressed to the saints, showed me 
how, after I had become a Christian, to follow Jesus, to live 
and serve God as a Christian or a disciple of Christ. These 
holy instructions I have followed many years, and am now 
old. I shall not be here long. I should like to have a view 
of the other side of Jordan, into the sweet fields of Eden. 
Like Moses, when he ascended Mount Pisgah, he viewed 
Canaan, though he was not permitted to enter. So I should 
like to have a view beforehand of the wonderful future." He 
turns over and reads that wonderful book, Revelation, from 
the first to the twenty-first chapter, and finds passing before 
him a grand panoramic view, commencing before the new 
dispensation, extending down through it, and through 



174 THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 

the intermediate State, and terminating in the eternal state, 
in the holy city, New Jerusalem, which John saw coming 
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned 
for her husband. He reads the twenty-first chapter, and 
the grand description of the final state of the redeemed, 
where all tears are wiped away, no more sorrowing nor sigh- 
ing, sickness nor death; where there is access to the river 
of the water of life, and to the tree of life. He reads the 
description of the holy city, the final home of the saints, 
and, in the language of good old Simeon, he exclaims, " It 
is enough ; my eyes have seen the salvation of the Lord ; 
now let thy servant depart in peace." 

Thus it is seen, that the Bible is the book for man, 
adapted to man, giving him a knowledge of his creation, of 
God's dealings with him for four thousand years, before 
Christ ; the grand series of preparation for the new and bet- 
ter covenant, based on better promises ; the full and complete 
introduction of the new institution. On opening the new 
covenant, we have found three departments for the three 
great classes of humanity, the unbelieving, the believing who 
know not the way to God, and those who are in Christ. The 
Lord has graciously prepared his divine testimonies, as re- 
ported by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, for the unbe- 
lieving, that they may have the privilege of believing. This 
important department is rightly placed first* in the volume 
we now, by common consent, call the New Testament. The 
second department is a report of the election of Matthias to 
fill the vacancy occasioned by the apostasy and fall of Judas 
from the apostolic office, the supernatural endowment of the 
apostles, their preaching, the first conversions and others af- 
terward, the planting of churches, setting them in order, etc. 
In this department the believer, who knows not what to do 
to become a Christian, can learn that which is the first thing 
before him and all-important to him — the way to God, to 



THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 175 

justification, or remission of sins. After a man has found 
the way to God, and has become a Christian, he needs a 
guide for his life and practice, as a Christian or a disciple of 
Christ. In the third department, the letters of the inspired 
apostles, he finds all this. These letters were all written to 
the saints, those in Christ. Hence, there is not an effort to 
make a believer in one of them, nor to show any one how 
to become a Christian. The entire matter of these letters 
is to show those who are Christians how to perform their 
part well, as Christians, that they may reach the heavenly 
Canaan. 

This is the book this world needs. "We need not pray to 
the Lord to make it what it is not, or to give it a power it 
does not possess, thus offering insult to the author of it. He 
has made it what he designed it to be, and, as it is, it is 
adapted to man as he is. Nor need we pray to the Lord to 
make man something else than he is, till we give him the 
Gospel. Give him, as he is, the Gospel as it is, as the power 
of God, to change him and make him what he ought to be. 
This is the Lord's way of working. He, therefore, sent men 
to preach the Gospel to every creature; to all nations; to 
turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of 
Satan to God. Where they went and preached, men were 
turned to God. Where the Gospel was not, in some form, 
conveyed to the minds of men, they were never turned to 
God. 

The Bible is the book for man, to make him a believer, 
show him how to become a Christian after he is a believer, 
and how to serve the Lord after he is a Christian, and make 
his way home to the eternal rest. This is the final aim of 
all the sincere. How we should delight to talk of that 
final rest ! — that home in the everlasting city ! and with 
what delight we should talk of the way leading to it, inquire 
all about it, and try and make a sure work of finding it ! 



176 THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 

This is the great matter. It is like a man, sixty years of 
age, inquiring about Oregon, speaking of its advantages, the 
health, climate, productions, etc. He appears never to 
grow weary of talking on the theme. His whole counten- 
ance brightens every time the subject comes up, and, as he 
enlarges on it, he becomes eloquent. He delights even to 
talk of the way to that country, and has learned all the par- 
ticulars about the way. You feel amazed, and wonder why 
a man at his time of life should be so much employed in 
thinking and talking of that country and the way to it; 
but, after inquiring more particularly into the matter, you 
learn that his father, some eighty-five years of age, has gone 
to that country, and still lives there; that his precious 
mother, in her advanced years, is also there ; that his broth- 
ers and sisters have gone there; that his children have 
left him and gone there. This furnishes a reason for his 
heart being there, and so much of his conversation about 
that country, and the way to it. Fiually, he tells you that 
he is going there himself. This makes a full explanation of 
all his anxieties and solicitudes about that country. 

Where are many of our fathers'? Many of you would 
answer, In Abraham's bosom ; in paradise ; gone to rest. 
Where are many of the precious mothers? Many of these 
also are gone to the same place of rest. Where are many 
of your companions ? They, too, are gone there. Where 
are many of your brothers and sisters ? You answer, 
Gone to the same place of repose. Where are many of your 
precious children ? They have followed. Do you remember 
how you wept, grieved, and mourned as you committed their 
bodies to the graves? Can you now live as if you had no 
thought of them, the state of rest to which they have gone, 
or the certainty that you shall soon follow? Can you now 
live as if you never thought of him who consecrated the way 



THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 177 

through the veil, and has, for us, entered into the true holy 
place, with his own blood, to appear in the presence of God 
for us? Can you live in this world with the certainty in 
view that you might enter eternity any hour, and yet neither 
talk, act, or even think of that state, the way leading to 
happiness, the loved ones gone, or him who died for you ? 
Do you say, " There is time enough yet." How do you 
know there is time enough yet? How do you know how 
much time you will need? How do you know how much 
time will be granted ? These momentous matters are all in 
the dark. You have not one ray of light on them. You 
are here now — hear the way of life pointed out, and can 
come and walk in it. "Now is the accepted time," says the 
Lord. " To-day, if you will hear his voice, harden not your 
hearts," is the reading in the book of God. Will you hear 
his voice and live? Will you accept life and be happy for- 
ever? or will you die in your sins and forever lament your 
folly? 

Be entreated by your best friends, by the love of 
Christ, by the tender mercies of our God, by all that is sa- 
cred, lovely and endearing, to turn to the Lord while it is 
an accepted time and day of salvation. Commit your all 
into the gracious and merciful hands of him who has loved 
you, endured the cross, despised the shame, and laid down 
his life for you. He is your best friend, your only Savior 
and Redeemer, and if, in madness, you turn away from him 
and dash the cup of salvation from your lips, despise his 
goodness, love and mercy, you will lament your folly for- 
ever. In one hour the whole scene may be changed with 
you — the other side of the picture turned to your eye. 
Turn now, learn to love righteousness and the God of right- 
eousness ; to love purity and holiness, the pure and the holy, 
and the God of purity and holiness. Assimilate yourself to 



178 THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO MAN. 

the good, the true, the lovely and excellent of heaven and 
earth, and thus prepare for the holy, the heavenly and sub- 
lime associations of the eternal world. To God, who loved 
us, and to the Lamb that was slain for us, be the glory, the 
dominion, the honor and power, forever and ever ! 



SERMON, No. VIII. 

THEME.-THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

Text—" Wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein."— 

Isaiah xxxv: 8. 

The Gospel of Christ was not intended by its Divine 
Author for a few learned or wise men, but for " every crea- 
ture," learned or unlearned, wise or foolish. That which is 
intended for the people at large — the great mass of mankind — 
in the nature of the case, must be simple, easy of compre- 
hension, and applicable to the people. It must be of such a 
nature that the people can lay hold of it without long, deep, 
and profound research. This is evident from some scrip- 
tures now to be introduced. Gal. i : 8, Paul says, " Though 
we, or an angel from heaven, preach to you any other Gospel 
than that which we have preached, let him be accursed. As 
we said before, so even now I say again, if any one preaches 
to you any other Gospel than that which you have received, 
let him be accursed." This is an apostolic and divine 
anathema. It ought to be considered with great care. The 
intention of it is to preserve the Gospel in its purity, as the 
Lord gave it, without being mutilated or in any way per- 
verted. It was intended for the eyes of preachers of the 
Gospel, to make them feel the awful responsibility of hand- 

(179) 



180 THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

ling that Word which may not be mutilated, corrupted, or 
perverted by man or angel, without incurring the curse of 
Heaven. 

In connection with this language of the Apostle Paul, 
turn and read, near the close of the New Testament, " I tes- 
tily to every man that hears the words of the prophecy of 
this book, if any one add to these things, God will add to 
him the plagues that are written in this book ; and if any 
one take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, 
God will take away his part from the tree of life, and from 
the holy city; which things are written in this book." 
These utterances are full of meaning, and placed at the close 
of the book to warn every one of the terrible doom of the 
man who shall add any thing to or take any thing from this 
book. Is it claimed that this is simply said of the Book of 
Revelation ? That may be; but is it not equally true of 
every part of the Book of God *? May we add to the writ- 
ings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, Paul, Peter, James, and 
Jude, but not to the writings of John ? By no means. AVe 
may not add to any thing the Lord has said, pervert it, cor- 
rupt it, or preach any other Gospel. If we do, the curse of 
Heaven will fall on us. 

We connect two more passages with these. The Lord 
says, " He who believes not shall be condemned." Mark 
xvi : 16. Again: " He who believeth not the Son shall 
not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." John 
iii : 36. Stop and think on the awful import of these 
words. They need no explaining. Their clear and terrible 
meaning is the first thing that strikes the attention of every 
one. He who believes not the Gospel shall be condemned. 
He who preaches any other Gospel shall be accursed. He 
who adds any thing to it shall have the plagues recorded in 
it added to him. He who shall take any thing from it shall 
have his part taken out of the book of life, and out of the 



THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 181 

holy city. The following conclusions flow legitimately from 
these premises: 

1. The Lord could not consistently condemn a preacher 
for preaching another Gospel, perverting the true Gospel, 
adding to it or taking from it, if he had not made it so easy 
of comprehension, clear and intelligible, that the preacher 
capable of preaching at all can preach it as the Lord gave 
it, adding nothing to it, taking nothing from it, neither per- 
verting or corrupting it. What he could not do consist- 
ently, he could not do at all. It is, therefore, claimed that 
the Gospel is thus plain, and that the curse of Heaven will 
fall on the man who preaches any other Gospel, mutilates 
or corrupts the true one. 

2. The Lord could not consistently condemn a man for 
not believing the Gospel, if he had not made it sufficiently 
clear, intelligible, and credible, so that, by treating the sub- 
ject fairly, a man could believe it. It is claimed, therefore, 
that the Gospel is thus clear, intelligible, and credible, and 
that the Lord will condemn the man who does not believe 
it. 

These deductions contain the theme for the balance of 
this discourse. Some man objects and insists that the Gos- 
pel can not be thus plain and intelligible, or we would not 
have so many sorts of preachers, doctrines, and churches. 
These different sorts of doctrines, preachers, and churches 
may present a difficulty hard to explain, but furnish no 
refutation of the ground taken in reference to the simplicity 
of the Gospel. It might turn out, on careful examination, 
that these differences are not about the Gospel, or any thing 
in it. No matter what they are about, they do not prove 
that the Gospel is not clear and intelligible. The prophet 
Isaiah considered the Avay plain, for he said, " The way- 
faring men, though fools, should not err therein." See 
Isaiah xxxv : 8. Our Lord considered the way to God 



182 THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

plain, for he said, " They who seek shall find." See Matt, 
vii: 8. 

It is not some man's opinion that is here placed before 
you, nor some man's comment. The matter on which a 
man is to make up his mind is the clear and unequivocal 
statements of Scripture. Are they true? Does he believe 
them ? The prophet looks clown through seven hundred 
and fifty years, to the way to God, under the new economy, 
and, in the most unequivocal manner, says, "The wayfaring 
men, though fools, should not err therein." And the Lord, 
in emphatic terms, says, " They who seek shall find." This 
ought to be an end of controversy, on all this protracted 
seeking, to find the way to God, or how to become a Chris- 
tian. " But," says a man, " I have known many persons 
who have been seekers for years, and have not found the 
Savior." Nothing of this kind can disprove the words of 
the prophet or of Jesus. These words still stand true, and 
will till the day of judgment. The Lord did not intend 
that men should find who would not regard his directions 
where and how to find, but seek him where and in a way in 
which the Lord never promised to be found. When a clear 
description is given, and full information where and how 
any thing may be found, and a man goes somewhere else and 
seeks it, he ought not to be surprised if he does not find. 

But now the question comes up for our consideration, 
whether it turned out as the prophet and the Lord said. 
When the new and living way was opened up, and the door 
of the kingdom thrown wide open, did sinners have pro- 
tracted seeking and many of them fail to find the way? 
Let us examine. At the opening of the kingdom, on the 
great Pentecost, the people heard one discourse, and in- 
quired, "What shall w T e do?" In one sentence the apostle 
answered their question ; told them what to do, so that they 
understood him, did what he commanded, and the same day 



THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 183 

became Christians, and entered into the kingdom. We find 
no account of a seeker going away seeking, or a mourner 
going away mourning. Every man and woman who in- 
quired the way, was shown the way; told what to do to 
be accepted of the Lord, did it the same day, and entered 
the new covenant. Thus the Gospel is easily understood and 
easily obeyed. This fulfills the words of Jesus: "They 
who seek shall find." What a wonderful contrast this case 
makes with much of the procedure in modern times ! They 
talk in some of these modern establishments, called churches, 
of " Pentecostal occasions." But when did they ever have a 
vast number of " mourners/' " seekers," " inquirers," or 
"anxious persons" come to them, inquiring, "What shall we 
do?" and proceed forthwith, in one single sentence, to tell 
them what to do, so that they could do it the same day, and 
enter the covenant and not a mourner left mourning, or a 
seeker go away seeking ? They can tell you how many anx- 
ious persons there were, how many " experienced a change," 
or how many were " hopefully converted," and, sometimes, 
how many were " powerfully converted ; " but a case where 
every one was shown the way to God, what to do to obtain 
pardon, so that each one did it the same day, and entered 
into the covenant with God, is what they can not do. The 
plain truth is, they have no plan of salvation ; no definite, 
clear, and intelligible terms with which a soul of the race can 
comply and become a Christian. It is as clear as sunbeams 
that the apostles had definite, clear, and intelligible terms of 
salvation, which they could place before men, with which 
they could forthwith comply and come to the promise of 
pardon. Hence, when the three thousand inquired, " What 
shall we do ! " the apostle had an answer, which he could 
utter, in one single sentence, definitely, clearly, and intelli- 
gibly informing them what to do, so that they understood it, 
and did it the same day, and entered the kingdom of God. 



184 THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

Not a seeker went away seeking, nor a mourner went away 
mourning, nor a single failure of any sort. 

If any man thinks this is making too much of a single 
case, turn to the next case, in the apostolic practice — Acts iii : 
19 — and find the directions there given, and see how many 
seekers went away seeking, and he will find no account of a 
single case of the kind. In a single sentence, the apostle 
told them what to do; they did it, and were immediately ac- 
cepted. There was not a single failure. There was no such 
thing as honest people, seriously and earnestly trying to be- 
come Christians, and utterly failing. Turn to the eighth 
chapter and follow the evangelist of Jesus Christ, and you 
find him showing every man and woman that came to him 
what to do to come to the Lord, and not a failure is made. 
Every sincere inquirer is told how to become a Christian, 
shown how to enter into the covenant, on the first interview 
with the preacher. Read on and examine the account of the 
preaching to the Ethiopian officer, treasurer of Queen Can- 
dace, and, during the first interview, Philip points him to 
the Lamb of God, shows him the way into the kingdom, re- 
ceives him, and he goes on his way rejoicing. This preacher 
had definite, clear, and intelligible terms of pardon ; pre- 
sented them to the officer, who at once complied with them, 
and was accepted of the Lord. 

The same was true in the case of young Saul, as recorded 
in the ninth chapter of Acts. Ananias was sent to him to 
tell him what he must do. As soon as he reached the room 
where he was, in the first sentence he uttered he told him 
what he must do. It was definite, clear, and intelligible. 
He rose forthwith, did what he was commanded, and was 
pardoned. Though he was the chief of sinners, he did 
not have to wait a single day, but rose at once and yielded 
himself to the divine commandment. Nor was there any 
more delay when Peter, for the first time, appeared before 



THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 185 

the Gentiles. Though they had never heard a Gospel ser- 
mon, the apostle laid the matter before them, and showed 
them the way to God. They followed his instructions, 
turned to the Lord and entered into the covenant at once, 
and rejoiced in the salvation of the Lord. Not a seeker or 
mourner went away seeking or mourning, but every honest, 
inquiring soul that desired it found the Lord. So it turned 
out in every instance under the labors of the apostles and 
first evangelists. They never failed, in any instance, to show 
the poor sinner the way to God, where he was honestly in- 
quiring. They never made a failure. Indeed, in that day, 
they did not have any preachers who could not show a sin- 
ner the way to God. The Lord never called or sent any 
man to preach who could not, or would not, set forth the 
terms of pardon. 

In one round sentence, from the opening of the kingdom 
on Pentecost, to the final amen of the Apocalypse, there is 
not an intimation of a single instance in which any sincere 
person was sent away seeking, or in which the preacher had 
to see the person the second time to show the way of salva- 
tion. In every instance, a sincere person, honestly desiring 
to become a Christian, was told what to do at once. The 
protracted seeking, and the numerous failures to find, of our 
time, are wholly unknown to the Scriptures. 

In contrast with this, how stands the matter in modern 
times? A protracted meeting commences, or, more popu- 
larly, a revival. Preaching, praying, exhorting, and singing 
are all brought to bear. The Lord created man with relig- 
ious faculties. In such revivals these religious faculties 
become roused, and persons rush forward as " seekers," " in- 
quirers," or " mourners." They cry out, "What shall we 
do?" The apostolic answer is entirely ignored. Not a 
word is said about it. The sinner is encouraged, by telling 
him, "They that seek shall find," and "They that mourn 
16 



186 THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

shall be comforted." He is exhorted to pray, to give up his 
whole heart, to keep back nothing. In the prayers, the 
Lord is entreated to "come now," "come right down," to 
" come with converting power," etc. The honest seeker, to 
the best of his ability, unites in these prayers, and is expect- 
ing an immediate power from God to perform a miraculous 
change in him, and make him a Christian. All the preach- 
ing, exhorting, praying, and singing lead him to expect this. 
It may be that some persons less sedate, thoughtful, and 
considerate, but more frivolous, wild, and rollicking, rise and 
speak of having " experienced a change," and " received a 
hope." The others, more solid, grave, and sober-minded, 
looked for the Lord to come, but knew nothing of his com- 
ing ; looked for a miraculous change, but none came ; tried 
to get a hope, but got none. They "experienced" nothing 
but a sad disappointment. 

The preacher is now fully out at sea. He goes not to his 
Bible, but proceeds to encourage them, by telling how long 
he, or some one else, was a seeker; that the Lord has his 
own good time for doing his work; that they are probably 
keeping back something; that they have not given up the 
whole heart, or, in other words, that they have not been 
honest in the matter. They know they are sincere in the 
matter, and willing to humble themselves, or do any thing 
to please God, and return again the next night. Similar 
prayers are offered, and the exercises much the same as be- 
fore. Thus thousands of persons, as sincere as the world 
contains, have been kept going and going, seeking and seek- 
ing, mourning and grieving, night after night, and week 
after week, and, in some instances, year after year, and found 
nothing. They have been disappointed and deceived in that 
which was dearer to them than all things besides ! AYho is 
to blame for all this? Not the Gospel, for it has its definite, 
clear, simple, and intelligible directions to the sinner, or 



THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 187 

conditions on which the Lord promises pardon. No uncer- 
tain sound in it. Not these sincere, inquiring persons, for 
they heard the preacher, and did every thing he told them 
to do. Who, then, is to blame for this wonderful failure? 
The preachers, who had the New Testament lying before 
them, and the apostolic directions to sinners, and would not 
follow these directions. These are the men who are responsi- 
ble, and will be held responsible in the day of judgment. 
An awful responsibility it will be, too. It is difficult to 
conceive how a man can incur a greater responsibility than 
to misguide the sincere, the candid, and honest ; deceive them 
and utterly disappoint them in their efforts to find the way 
to God. What a responsibility has been incurred in this 
matter. The whole country abounds with men and women 
as sincere, candid, and honest as can be found on earth, who 
have been seekers, mourners, done every thing the preachers 
told them to do as faithfully as human beings could, and 
continued an astonishing length of time, and found nothing; 
demonstrated this system to be a failure. They know they 
hlave been disappointed, deceived, deluded. They have, in 
many instances, turned away in utter disgust, became hard- 
ened and abandoned sinners. Many of them have aban- 
doned all churches, all preaching, and are out at sea without 
chart or compass. 

This modern, dark, gloomy, and unintelligible system of 
seeking without inquiring of the Lord, in his clear, definite, 
and intelligible instructions, where he will be found, and 
where he has promised the salvation of the soul from sin, 
is responsible for all this. There never was a failure in the 
Lord's plan. The failure is in men, who either do not know 
the Lord's plan, or will not practice it. There can be no 
excuse in the case. In the nature of the case, the Lord 
would not make the way of salvation so dark, mystical, 
and difficult that honest and sincere people could not find 



188 THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

it, and then condemn them for not finding it. The very idea 
of men and women entering an institution, and then not 
knowing how to show other people the way in, is utterly 
ridiculous. There is, probably, no institution into which 
men and women have entered, in this world, and could not 
show others the way in, except some of the dark, misty, and 
foggy systems of religion. Men and women get into these, 
and can not tell how they got in, or how another person can 
get in ! This is confusion worse confounded, darkness that 
may be felt. 

There is nothing clearer to the man acquainted with the 
New Testament than that, in the time of the apostles, any 
person who desired to be a Christian could forthwith turn to 
God and enter the covenant. No such thing is known to 
the Scriptures as persons desiring to become Christians, and 
seeking to do so, but could not. This is implied by all the 
invitations of the Gospel. Whoever will, let him take of 
the water of life freely, is the very spirit of the Gospel. 
Thousands of these modern seekers die seeking, without even 
the imagination that they have found pardon. This is not 
the way of the Lord, nor even a wise human device, but one 
of the weakest, most mischievous deceptions and exten>ive 
failures ever known. Thousands of people, in all directions, 
need go to no man to tell them, to no preacher nor private 
person, for they have tried it, and know for themselves that 
they have tried honestly, and found nothing. They know 
what sort of promises were made to them, encouragements 
held out and advices were given, and they know that they 
have received nothing; that they have been utterly disap- 
pointed, misled, and deceived. This much is not a matter 
of opinion with them, but of personal knowledge. They know 
it. The injury done to these is incalculable. In numerous 
instances the injury can never be mended. Many will go 
no farther, but put all religion and the Bible itself on the 



THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 189 

same footing, and never again have any confidence in re- 
ligions instruction. 

But some man is saying by this time, If the Gospel is 
such a plain matter, or if you have any thing clearer, plainer, 
or more intelligible than what we have tried, let us have it. 
To this, attention shall now be given. Beginning, then, at 
the starting point, what must a man believe ? " Many other 
signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which 
are not written in this book ; but these are written that you 
might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and that 
believing you might have life through his name." See John 
xx : 30, 31. As Philip was preaching Jesus to the Ethio- 
pian officer, they came to a certain water, and the officer 
said, " See, here is water ; what hinders me from being im- 
mersed ? " The reply of the evangelist was, " If you believe 
with all your heart, you may." He said, "I believe that 
Jesus is the Christ the Son of God." See Acts viii: 37. 
Paul says, " If you will confess with your mouth, that Jesus 
is Lord, and will believe in your heart that God has raised 
him from the dead, you shall be saved." These plain Scrip- 
tures show beyond controversy what a man must believe to 
become a Christian. He is not required to believe this 
creed, that creed, or the other creed ; the thirty-nine articles 
of one, nor the twenty-five articles of another; the West- 
minster, nor the Philadelphia Confession ; this theory, that 
theory, or the other theory; but the truth concerning the 
living, ascended, exalted, and glorified Jesus, who has gone 
into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the throne of 
the Majesty in the heavens, far above all principality, and 
power, and might, and dominion, and every name in heaven 
and on earth. The faith of a Christian does not center in a 
few articles of opinion, drawn up by a few uninspired men, 
setting forth the difference between their opinions and the 
opinions of some other uninspired men, but in the ever- 



190 THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

living person of our Lord Jesus the Christ. This explains 
how it was that so many heard the Gospel and believed to 
the salvation of their souls in a single day. They believed 
on a person, the glorious person of the Messiah. They could 
hear of him and believe on him in a single day, and become 
ready to place themselves under him, ready to be taught by 
him and follow him. 

But a man complains that he can not tell what repentance 
is ; that the preachers refer to lexicons and learned authori- 
ties, and he can not tell what is right. There are but few 
men who have not already a pretty good idea what repent- 
ance is. This can be easily demonstrated. Suppose a man 
should be immersed and unite with a church, but, in a very 
short time, be seen reeling from intoxication, using profane 
and obscene language ; what would men of the world say of 
him? They would, without hesitation, say he never re- 
pented. How do they know, if they do not know what re- 
pentance is? The truth is, they know what repentance is,' 
or, at least, the fruits that ought to proceed from it. They 
understand that it ought to be such a change, in some way, 
whether they can describe it or not, was ill result in a good 
life in time to come. This is true; it is such a change of 
mind as will result in a good life. No matter whether you 
know the learned definitions or not, nor whether you can 
explain precisely how the change is; you know it must be 
such a change in a man as will result in a good life. If the 
good life does not follow — no matter how much a man tells 
of wonderful changes, feelings, and emotions within him ; of 
great heart-work, experience, and joys — nobody believes he 
has truly repented. Xo man in our day will have much 
confidence in any great work of grace within a man, while 
there is no change without. This shows that there is a pretty 
correct understanding what repentance is ; that it is a change 
in the mind sufficient to change the life. If a man is trav- 



THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 191 

eling for some city, but on a wrong road, he will not turn 
and take another road till he is convinced that he is going a 
wrong road — till his mind is changed in regard to the road ; 
nor will any intelligent man believe there is much change in 
his mind so long as he persists in traveling on the wrong 
road. But when he turns and earnestly pursues another 
road, all admit that there is a change in his mind. So, when 
the sinner turns from his sins and travels another road, there 
is no doubt about the change in his mind. 

But it is objected that one preacher says immersion is bap- 
tism ; another, sprinkling ; and another, pouring ; and they 
resort to lexicons, translations, historians, Greek, Latin, and 
Hebrew; and in the midst of all this, says a man, "I can 
not determine what is baptism." At first sight, this has the 
appearance of a considerable perplexity ; but there is an 
easy way of righting all this, to which we will now resort. 
Dismiss from your mind all new translations ; trouble your- 
self no more about lexicons ; turn your ear, for the present, 
away from all histories, except the Bible ; nor shall you be 
troubled with one word from Greek, Latin, or Hebrew ; you 
may throw aside the word " immerse/' Now, will you hear 
the common version of King James? "I will/' says a 
reader. All right. To the common version, then, we go. 
Where, then, in the common version do we read of sprink- 
ling for baptism ? Do we not read that the Holy Spirit was 
"shed forth?" We do; but "shed forth" is not sprinkled. 
And if it were, it would be the Holy Sjnrit that ivas sprinkled, 
not water ; nor is there any thing about baptism in it. There 
is no sprinkling for baptism in the common version, nor any 
other. Where, then, do you find pouring for baptism in the 
common version? We read that "the Holy Spirit was 
poured out." True, but "poured" there does not mean 
baptized, or the Holy Spirit was baptized, for the Holy Spirit 
was "poured out." This pouring was not baptizing. You 



192 THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

can find both sprinkling and pouring in the common version, 
but that is not baptizing, nor is cither word used in the sense 
of that institution, nor for baptism. 

Now, be careful and note down what you do find in the 
common version. What was the element used in baptizing-? 
When the Lord was baptized, he "went up straightway out 
of the water." See Matt, iii: 16. This points to water as 
the element. "John was baptizing in Enon, near Salem, 
because there was much water there." John iii: 23. This 
also points to water as the element. Philip " came to a cer- 
tain water" Acts viii : 36. The officer said, " See, here is 
water," and "they both went down into the water" (vcr.se 
38), and "came up out of the water" (verse 39). Peter said, 
" Can any man forbid water, that these should not be bap- 
tized?" Acts x: 47. These all point to the same element 
— water. This much is then settled. 

What is the next thing to inquire about? The quantity 
of the element used. Is there any thing about this? Why 
was John baptizing in Enon, near Salem? "Because there 
was much water there." See John iii: 23. 

Is there any thing in the common version about where 
they found the water? Is there any thing about bringing 
water to baptize? Nothing. Is there any thing said about 
having the water in a bowl or any similar vessel? Not a 
word. Do we find any thing about baptizing in a room, or 
in a house? Not a word. They were baptized of John in 
Jordan, as we learn (John iii : 6) ; " in the river of Jordan " 
(Mark i: 6); in Enon (John iii: 26). As Philip and the 
officer went on their way, "they came unto a certain water."' 
This shows where they found the water. They found it in 
its native j>Iace. It was not brought to them; they went 
to it, 

As all the surroundings throw some light on the subject, 
it will be proper to inquire what they did just previous to 



TIIE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 193 

baptizing. Philip and the officer "came unto a certain 
water." See Acts viii: 36. Where did that place them? 
Certainly, at it. What next? "They both went down into 
the water" (verse 38). But our preacher explains "into" 
there to mean at or near by. You have forgot that we are 
to stand by the common version. It says, " they came unto 
a certain water;" that is, to it, or at it. They then "went 
doini into the water," both Philip and the eunuch. Down 
into the water means more than at it. Down into it gets the 
person in the right element and place, ready lor baptizing; 
"and he baptized him." How was that done? What did 
the evangelist do to the candidate ? 

Paul says, Colossians ii: 12, "you are buried with him in 
baptism." That is a plain transaction. Any man, learned 
or unlearned, can tell when that is done. Romans vi : 4, he 
says "we are buried with him by baptism." Any person can 
tell whether that is done or not, if he is an eye-witness. 

What followed after baptizing? Philip and the eunuch 
"came up out of the w T ater." That w r as a plain affair. Any 
person will readily see how that was done. 

What resulted from the baptizing? The body tuas waslicd. 
See Heb. x : 22. 

In sprinkling or pouring water on a candidate for bap- 
tism, the following items are out of place: 

1. They do not generally find the water in its native 
place. 

2. They do not go where there is much water. 

3. They do not generally "come unto a certain," but have 
a little water brought unto them. 

4. They do not generally go down into the icater. 

5. They do not bury in baptism. 

6. They do not come up out of the icater. 

7. The body is not washed with water. 

Those who immerse go unto the water, where there is much 
17 



194 THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

water, down into the water, bury in baptism, come up out of 
the water, and the body is washed with water. When this 
is done, the controversy about the action of baptism in the 
mind and conduct of the candidate is at an end. The con- 
science is at rest, and no further doubt remains in regard to 
it. This is not the case when sprinkling or pouring is used 
as baptism. Here the mind is continually unsettled, speci- 
ally if the party reads or hears any thing on immersion. 
The plainness of the Xew Testament on this subject is such 
that, if any person follows its simple teaching, taking the 
obvious sense, there will never be any doubt left to harass 
and make the conscientious person unhappy. This is suffi- 
cient for any one honestly striving to do the will of God. If 
the heart is right in the sight of God, under the power of 
the faith of Christ, the belief with all the heart that Jesus is 
the Christ, the Son of the living God, and the repentance 
strong enough to result in a future good life, when the sub- 
ject is "buried in baptism/' there will be no further liars, 
doubts, or scruples about the action of baptism. 

Some one responds, " Even admitting that the action is 
plain, the preachers differ about the design, and I know not 
how to settle the point." That is also settled in the New 
Testament as clearly as any other thing can be or ever has 
been. All we have to do is honestly to give up to, and be 
instructed wholly by the inspired Scriptures. Start anew, as 
if you had never heard one word on the subject, and inquire 
what the will of the Lord is. Consider the following: 

1. Romans vi: 3, we read of being "immersed into Christ 
Jesus." Gal. iii: 27, we read of being "immersed into 
Christ." What is immersion into Christ equivalent to? 
Though nothing but immersion is mentioned here as the act 
in which persons arc transferred into Christ, it is not immer- 
sion alone, or immersion without its proper antecedents, viz., 
faith and repentance. Without faith and repentance, no 



THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 195 

person is a proper subject for baptism or at all fit for the 
sacred rite. This is what. is here meant by "the proper an- 
tecedents." What is meant by the words "into Christ"? 
The meaning is, into the Church ; into union, communion, 
and fellowship with Christ ; into the kingdom ; < into the 
possession and enjoyment of all its rights, privileges, hopes, 
and enjoyments. In amount, it is the same as into remission 
of sins ; into justification or reconciliation ; for the man " in 
Christ " is pardoned, justified, and reconciled. He is adopted 
into the heavenly family. Baptism is, then, the last step, or 
the consummating act, in entering the kingdom. 

Take another passage : " Unless a man be born of water 
and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of 
God." John iii: 5. That "born of water" is a figurative 
expression for baptism, is admitted by all the authorities of 
note, and known to every man who has even a tolerable 
knowledge of religious literature. That Luther, Calvin, and 
Wesley so understood it and so commented on it, is an un- 
deniable matter of fact. That this passage is quoted and 
applied to baptism in the Episcopalian Prayer Book, the 
Presbyterian Confession of Faith, and Methodist Discipline, 
any one can see by referring to those books. What is the 
amount of entering into the kingdom of God? It is the 
same as entering into the Church of Christ, or into remission 
of sins or state of justification; for every one in the king- 
dom is in the Church, in Christ, pardoned, justified. Here 
the Lord then connects it with the work of the Spirit; for 
"born of the Spirit" is simply made a believer; or "begot- 
ten by the word of truth," or " through the Gospel," the 
words of the Spirit. " Born of the Spirit " is made a be- 
liever, and "born of water" is baptism. The Lord, there- 
fore, connects the work of the Spirit, in making a believer, 
and baptism together, and thus declares that, " unless a man 
be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the 



196 THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

kingdom of God." So it stood then, and so it ought to be 
now. 

This is the same in substance as the commission — Mark 
xvi : 16 — "He that believes and is immersed shall be saved." 
Here we have the literal words, "believe" and "immerse," 
instead of the figurative words, "born of water and of the 
Spirit," and connecting the same two things, belief and 
immersion, together in order to the same end. Find out 
what the faith is for, in this sentence, or what it is in 
order to, and you find out what the immersion is for, or is 
in order to. The same connection that shows what one is 
in order to, shows what the other is in order to. They 
are both in order to salvation. Let us discriminate, the 
salvation here spoken of is not the eternal salvation; for 
many men believe, and are immersed, who go away into 
sin and never obtain the eternal salvation. It is pardon — 
an immediate salvation from sin. He that believes and is 
immersed shall be pardoned. This is the same in substance 
as the other passages consulted ; for saved or pardoned im- 
plies " in Christ," or " in the Church," or kingdom ; for 
all who are saved are in Christ, in the Church, in the 
kingdom. 

Acts ii: 38 is the same in substance : "Repent and be im- 
mersed every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, in 
order to the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift 
of the Holy Spirit." "In order to the remission of sin-/' 
or " into the remission of sins," is the same in amount as into 
justification, into reconciliation, or into Christ; for all who 
have remission of sins are justified, are in Christ, in the 
Church, in the kingdom, having been immersed into the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 
This is the reason why we have the words in the commis- 
sion: "Immersing them into the name of the Father, and 
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." It is into the new 






THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 197 

state or relation, union with the Father, union with the Son, 
and union with the Holy Spirit, which, in substance, is the 
same as in Christ, in the Church, in the kingdom; for all 
who are immersed into the name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Spirit, are in Christ, in the Church, 
in the kingdom, or they are pardoned and adopted. 

" Immersed into one body" — 1 Cor. xii : 13 — is the same 
in substance, for all in the " one body " are in the kingdom, 
pardoned, justified. All these passages show that immersion 
is the initiatory rite, the act in which the transfer is made 
" into Christ," " into one body," " into the kingdom of God," 
" into remission of sins," " into the name of the Father, and 
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," amounting to the same 
as into a state of justification. In the act of believing, the 
sinner is only prepared in his heart for the transfer into the 
one body, or into the kingdom, but not actually transferred. 
In the act of repenting, the sinner is prepared only in his life 
or character for the transfer into one body, into the king- 
dom, or into remission of sins, but not actually transferred. 
But in the act of immersion the penitent, whose heart has 
been prepared for the transfer into the new state by faith, 
and whose life has been prepared for the transfer by repent- 
ance, is, in truth and in fact, transferred "into Christ," 
"into one body," "into the kingdom of God," "into the re- 
mission of sins," "into the name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 

You, therefore, never read of believing into one body, re- 
penting into one body, or praying into one body. The rea- 
son is that, by the acts of believing, repenting, praying or 
communion, no one is transferred into the one body. Believ- 
ing, repenting, praying, communion, etc., are all right, and 
must be in their place; but no one of them is the initiatory 
rite, or the act in which the transfer into the new state or 
relation is made. Believing goes before the transfer, and 



198 THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

prepares the sinner, in heart, for the transfer. Repentance 
goes before the transfer, and prepares the sinner, in life, for 
the transfer. Praying and communion, singing and rejoic- 
ing, are acts of devotion for those already transferred, or 
those in the one body — in the kingdom. Immersion is the 
act in which the transfer is made. Hence, persons are " im- 
mersed into one body," "into the remission of sins," "into 
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Spirit;" but they are never said to "believe into one body," 
u into the remission of sins," or "into the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." 

This accounts for another thing, viz.: that we are to be 
immersed but once. If immersion were in the Church, if it 
were a " religious duty," a " Church ordinance," a " Chris- 
tian 'duty," there would be set times when it should be per- 
formed, as the communion, again and again. But this is not 
the case. By common consent, all agree that it is never to 
be repeated. The reason of this is, we enter into the one 
body, or kingdom, but once. The act or rite in which we 
are transferred into the new state is never repeated, because 
we never enter into Christ, into the body or name, but once. 
The rite or act in which we enter is, therefore, never needed 
but once. 

If any one of our readers is still troubled about the design 
of immersion, please turn to the words, " Repent and be im- 
mersed," and leave the word immerse out for the time being, 
and read the passage without it, and see if you can determine 
what repentance is for or in order to. No doubt, you will 
find the design of it in an instant. Thus read it now and 
look at it: "Repent every one of you, in the name of Jesus 
Christ, in order to the remission of sins." What is the re- 
pentance in order to? You answer, "In order to the remis- 
sion of sins." Now, leave out the word "repent," and read 
again. The same words that told what repentance was in 



THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 199 

order to, will now tell what immersion is in order to. It 
will then read, "Be immersed, everyone of you, in the name 
of Jesus Christ, in order to the remission of sins." Then, 
certainly, when you have both repentance and immersion, 
the same connecting words tell what they both stand for or 
in order to. 

If you desire to examine the matter in the simplest form 
possible, turn to the commission — Mark xvi : 16 — and try it 
in the same manner. Let us see if we can learn what faith 
or believing is in order to or for. To this end we will read 
the passage without the words " and be immersed," so as to 
keep the eye on believing and find out precisely the design of 
it. It will then read, " He that believeth shall be saved." 
What is the believing for or in order to? To being saved. 
Now let us read the passage without the word " believeth," 
and inserting the words omitted before, and the same words 
that told what believing is for will tell what immersion is 
for. It will then read, "He that is immersed shall be 
saved." What is the immersion in order to or for? To 
being saved. When believing and being immersed are both 
inserted, as the Lord arranged them, the words that tell what 
each is for, separately, tell with as much accuracy what both 
are for when used together. In the same sentence, in the 
same words, the Lord tells what both believing and being 
immersed are in order to or for. They are both in order to 
salvation. In the same way, the apostle — Acts ii : 38 — in the 
same sentence, in precisely the same words, tells us what re- 
pentance and immersion are in order to. They are two steps 
in the same divine process, in order to the same end — pardon 
or justification. 

"I should not know," says a man, "what church to join, 
if I should concede that all is plain thus fir." There need 
be no trouble about that. Follow out the Scriptures that 
have been brought to your view, obey the Gospel, and thus 



200 THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

enter the Church of Christ, and then unite with the most 
convenient congregation of the members you can find, and 
remain with them till you die. You ought not to belong to 
any other body, or kingdom, than the body of Christ. 

"But how would I decide what creed to adopt?" There 
need be no trouble about this. All parties argue that the 
creed the nearest like the Bible is the nearest right. The 
reason of this is, that the Bible is right. Then, if the creed 
the nearest like the Bible is the nearest right, and will do at 
all, because it is so near right, the Bible itself, which is pre- 
cisely right, will do! If it is safe to adopt a creed nearly 
like the Bible, and consequently nearly right, it is infallibly 
safe to adopt the Bible, which is precisely right. 

"But I can not understand the whole Bible." No matter 
if you can not understand half of it. There is not one ray 
of light from heaven for the children of men, except what 
comes from the Bible. What understanding you have of 
the Bible, or what light you have received from it, directly 
and indirectly, is all the light you have shining along your 
pathway to the skies; and what light you shall, directly and 
indirectly, derive from the same divine source, is all the 
light you will ever have to guide you to the everlasting city. 

"But why did not somebody among the great men, good 
and true, who have lived in the last three hundred years, 
find out these things and adopt the Bible as their only 
guide," says one, "before our time?" It would be hard lo 
tell why. It is hard to tell why the art of printing was not 
discovered till a modern date; why they did not make 1 gun- 
powder at an earlier day, or in some other country ; why the 
wisdom of the world failed to apply steam-power before the 
year 1800; and why railroads and telegraphs were never 
brought into use till our day. It would be equally hard to 
give the reason why a thousand other things were not dis- 
covered sooner. Why did not some mighty reformer rise 



THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 201 

before Luther, in Germany ; before Calvin, in France ; or 
Wesley, in England"? The human mind is so constituted 
that it can not bound from the depths of Romish darkness 
and, at one single leap, reach the full-orbed light of apostolic 
times in religious matters. It required many efforts, in dif- 
ferent parts of the world, to reach the grand consummation. 
The truth is, at times, men did appear to see the ground, 
but they did not find strength to stand up to it and maintain 
it. Chillingworth is probably the author of the sublime 
declaration: "The Bible, and the Bible alone, is the religion 
of Protestants." But neither he, nor his friends who ad- 
mired his statement, appeared to appreciate what was con- 
tained in it. 

John Wesley said, commending his General Rules for his 
" societies/' as he styled the little parties with which he first 
commenced holding meetings for prayers, for a deeper work 
of grace, " most of which we are taught of God to observe, 
even in his written word, which is the sufficient rule and the 
infallible rule both for our faith and practice." In the 
Methodist Discipline, the Presbyterian Confession of Faith, 
and the Episcopalian Prayer Book, we have the following : 
" The Holy Scriptures contain all things necessary for salva- 
tion, so that whatever is not read therein, or may not be 
proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should 
be believed as an article of faith or thought necessary to sal- 
vation." On the fifth page of Wesley's Notes to his new 
translation of the New Testament, he says : "Would to God 
that all party names were forgot, and that we, as humble, 
loving disciples, might sit down together at the Master's 
feet, read his Holy Word, imbibe his Spirit, and transcribe 
his life in our own." Numerous utterances of this descrip- 
tion are found in the writings of the most distinguished 
men who lived from one to two hundred and fifty years ago. 
The quotations just made arc from memory, and may not be 



202 Tin: BIMPLICITT OF THE GOSPEL OF OHEIST. 

precisely word forword, l>ni are, in sub tance, correct. Will 
you please hear Paul od the same sub LU Scripture i 

given by inspiration of God, and i profitable for teaching, 
Cor reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteou n< 

the naan of God may be perfect, thoroughly furni 
Cor every good work." 2 Tim. iii : 16. What mora '"in 
the man of God need than the teaching, repjoof, correction, 
and instruotioi] iii righteousness, thu being th&rovgMy 
■Hi ■■//< >l for every good work. Thus hai our kind beavenly 
Father fitted bis children to servo him and prepare thein- 
uelve for glory and honor. What an ad of rebellion it i , 
on the pari of any man or set of men, to at ume that the 
law of God is not sufficient for the government of the aint , 
and to guide them to peace and bappine , and b iudm that 
ii'iin pired men can make a law sufficient for thu purpose, 
and undertake (<» <!<> ii ! Yh, this is done in every in- 
stance where a human creed ii imposed on men for their 
: nment or guide. 
I ii , mat ter of man' alvat ion, there should be 

no ri I taken, no experiment* made, no trifling. Each 
pci on Iii but the one life to live in thi tate, but on* 
to be aved or la t, but one heaven to be gained or mi ed, and 
there should be no uncertainty in the matter. Our beavenly 
Father has made a will ; and if he ba not 1 1 out the mat- 
ter in Iii- will, told ii- how to gain the inheritance, then do 
one can tell us how, [fhe has not given u in tmotion to 
guidi glory and honor, no man can give u in i rue 

tion . When hi Son, our Lord, Emanuel, God with u , 

figured in i he pr< enoe of i hreo of hi <li eipli 
vvitne c , the Jehovah said, "Thi i my Son, the I •< lo 

noiii I :iiii well I » I « • : i «'<l; hear you liiin." 'I Iii OOin- 

mandment, to " hear him," can be carried out i » wa) but 

Ihering to what he ha* authorized to be said, as we find 
ii recorded in Scripture. He says himself, " I am the way, 



THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPBL OF CHRIST. 208 

the truth and the life; n<> man comes to the Father hut by 
me." Again he says," I if I be Lifted up, will draw all men 

to me." 

The time has now come, in the good providence of God, 
when the teaching of our Lord and his apostles is in In 1 sejwv- 
rated from the teachings and commandments of men, and when 
our Lord Jesus the Christ is to be held up and an effort 

made to draw all men to him. Those for him, his Gospel, 

his teaching, and thai of his apostles, are now calling lor his 
friends to come out, stand by him, and rally to his standard, 
maintain his Gospel and teaching, take on them his name, 
and stand * 1 1 * for every thing as it came from him and Ids 
inspired apostles, [f he is not an infallible guide, there is 
no infallible guide. If tho teaching of Jesus and his apos- 
tles is not infallibly safe, then there is do safe teaohing. It' 
it will not guide us to heaven and eternal felicity, thru there 
is no teaching that will guide us there. 

Take, then, the teaching, the divine and infallible teach- 
ing of Jesus and the apostles, read it. fill your memory with 
it, cherish it in your heart, meditateon it, delight in it. love 
it, and follow it with your whole mind and strength, and it 
will guide you peacefully, joyfully, and happily home to the 
haven of everlasting rest. Commend this teaching to your 
children, and children's children, that they may love and 

follow it when von are gone to rest. Commend it to the 
world around you, and exhort them to transmit it from gen- 
eration to generation (ill it shall reach the hist child that 

shall be horn ol our raee. It is our only source of inst ruc- 
tion in the way o( lite. Directly and indirectly, all our light 
must oome from it. 

Thus we have shown, by many infallible proofs, (hat the 

waj to Qod is plain so plain, so simple, so easily under- 
stood, that no one need err. AH truth i ti religion lies 
within the Bible. When it is our guide in religious mat- 



204 THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

ters, we are sure of being right, and need not err. Tt is 
our creed to be believed, our chart to guide our lives. It 
contains the assurance of pardon, justification, sanctification, 
and adoption. In the end, the promise of a glorious resur- 
rection and life eternal beyond the grave. 

To him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his 
own blood, and made us priests to our God, be honor and 
power everlasting. 



SERMON, No. IX. 

THEME.-THE TWO COVENANTS. 

Text— " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new 
covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah."— Jek. 
xxxi: 31. 

All who talk on the matters of the Bible at all use such 
terms as " first covenant " and " second covenant," " new 
covenant " and " old covenant," " new testament " and " old 
testament," "new institution" and "old institution," a 
"better covenant;" which last implies one not so good. In 
the use of those terms, we have Moses on one side and Jesus 
on the other; the law on the one hand and the Gospel on the 
other ; the letter on the one hand and the spirit on the other. 
We can not talk on the matters of the Bible without the use 
of these terms. The ideas contained in these terms run 
through the entire revelation from God to man, and, whether 
men understand them or not, they are continually using the 
terms. Why the King James translators have given us the 
word " covenant " in the eighth chapter of Hebrews, and 
"testament" in the ninth chapter, is difficult to conceive, 
unless it was to darken counsel; for, in the original, we 
have the same word (diatheke) in both chapters, to express 
precisely the same thing, or used in the same sense. The 
mere English reader must see, as soon as the suggestion is 
made, the " covenant " of the eighth chapter is the same as 
the " testament" of the ninth. It is not a matter of serious 

(205) 



206 THE TWO COVENANTS. 

consequence whether you translate the original Greek word 
diatheke covenant or testament, but certainly it should be 
translated by the same word in both chapters, as the same 
tiling is meant in both. 

By these terms, we have two institutions constantly 
brought to view — the old and new. The old was by Moses 
and the new is by Jesus; hence, Moses represents the one 
and Jesus the other. The law sometimes stands for the 
one and the Gospel for the other ; the letter, in some cases, 
stands for the one and the spirit for the other ; the old cov- 
enant, in some cases, stands for the one and the new cove- 
nant for the other; the old testament, in some instances, 
stands for the one and the new testament for the other. No 
matter which of these representative terms is used, on either 
side, the same thing is meant. One is the old disjiensation 
and the other the new ; the old institution and the new — the 
former by Moses and the latter by Jesus. It then becomes 
a matter of transcendant importance to determine distinctly, 
all the time, what belongs to the old institution and what to 
the new ; what belongs to the better covenant and what be- 
longs to the best — to determine where the one terminates 
and the other begins. It is hoped that some of these things 
will be settled clearly and thoroughly in this discourse. 

During the past hundred years the world has been fur- 
nished with some speculations touching the matters here 
introduced. It would be uncourteous to pass all these 
speculations in silence, therefore a respectful attention shall 
be given some of them. One of them starts out as follows : 
"God made a covenant with Abraham, and that covenant, 
has been perpetuated to the present time, and is the Gospel 
covenant.". The arguments to sustain this theory are styled 
"arguments to prove the identity of the covenant." What 
is meant by "identity of the covenant?" "Identity" is 
not similarity. Two things may be similar, but can not be 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 207 

identical. To be identical, it must be the same thing, not 
two things. It is, therefore, nonsense, to talk of the identity 
of the covenants, or the two covenants. There must be no 
two in the case, but the one identical same covenant, made 
with Abraham, perpetuated through the Mosaic and Chris- 
tian institutions. 

But it would be well, before going farther, to inquire into 
the importance of sustaining this theory of the identity of 
the covenant. What is to be gained by it?. One replies 
that " there were infants in the Abrahamic covenant, and, 
if proved that the same covenant has been perpetuated to 
the present time, and is the Gospel covenant, infant church- 
membership is sustained." If that is the purpose, it would 
be well enough to look into the matter a little closely and 
see if it is right. 

1. If the covenant made with Abraham is the Gospel 
covenant, then neither we nor our children are in it; and 
that is not the worst — we can not get into it. Gen. xvii: 
13, the Lord describes the only classes in that covenant. 
1. " He that is born in thy house." 2. " He that is bought 
•with thy money." We can not come in under either of 
those heads. We were not born in Abraham's house or 
family, and can not be, neither ourselves nor our children. 
We were not, neither we nor our children, bought with 
Abraham's money, and can not be. We can come in under 
neither of these heads. If this is the Gospel covenant, both 
ourselves and children are forever excluded from it. Do 
you reply that there were two covenants made with Abra- 
ham, and that the reference has been made to the wrong 
covenant. The covenant referred to is the one having in- 
fants in it, and, if you abandon that, you find no infants. 
It is the one to which you must go to find both infants and 
circumcision. Your dilemma is this : If you go to that cov- 
enant, you find that we are excluded by the description of 



208 THE TWO COVENANTS. 

the only two classes in it; that we were not, and our chil- 
dren were not born in Abraham's family, nor purchased 
with his money. If you abandon that covenant, you find 
no infants nor circumcision. In either case, you are com- 
pletely defeated and your argument ruined. 

2. Jeremiah, standing thirteen hundred and fifty-one 
years this side of the time when the Lord made that cov- 
enant with Abraham, and, looking forward, says, " Behold, 
the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new 
covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of 
Judah." Xow, it is no matter how many covenants men 
talk of, nor what they call them — whether Adamic, Abra- 
hamic, or Mosaic — before Jeremiah spoke, for he points for- 
ward to a covenant which the Lord says " I icill make," 
and not to one which I have made, with Adam, Abraham, 
Moses, or any body else. But how do you know the prophet 
was speaking of the Gospel covenant ? Because Paul quotes 
his language — Heb. viii : 8-13 — and applies it to the Gospel, 
showing that the Gospel itself is that new covenant that the 
Lord said " I will make." Instead of this new covenant, 
the Gospel, which the Lord said "I Mill make," the old- 
covenant of circumcision, which he had made, the Lord most 
explicitly states that "it shall not be according to that old 
covenant." After a few minutes, it will be necessary to re- 
turn to the language of Jeremiah again. 

Another beautiful theory starts out as follows: u The 
Lord established a church in the time of Abraham, and that 
church has been perpetuated down through all the genera- 
tions and dispensations to the present time, and is now the 
Gospel Church, or Church of Christ." You inquire: Sup- 
pose all that is so; what of it? lie replies: "There were 
infants in that church that God established in the time of 
Abraham, and if I can show that the same church has been 
perpetuated to the present time, and is now the Gospel 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 209 

Church, then there are infants in it now." Arguments to 
prove this are styled arguments on the identity of the 
Church. What do you intend. to do with this argument? 
says one. It must be shown that it is without the shadow 
of foundation. How can that be done ? As follows : 

1. There was no church established in the time of Abra- 
ham, nor was there any church in existence at that time. 
There was no church in the world at the time of Abraham, 
and there had been none from the beginning of time. There 
need be no angry feeling nor disputing about what is here 
said. The statements just made are in regard to a plain 
matter of fact. It depends on no speculation. If there was 
any church — Adamic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, or any other — in 
the time of Abraham, turn to the account of it and read it. 
There is not one word about any church in the world during 
the first twenty-five hundred years. The only worship in 
the world was family worship. The head of the family was 
the prophet, priest, and ruler. It is outside of the range of 
all reason and argument to permit men to assume that there 
was a church in the time of Abraham, and then assume that 
there were infants in it, and then assume that the Church 
then and now is the same Church, and, on those three as- 
sumptions to found a positive divine institution. You may 
then dismiss from your mind all idea of any Abrahamic 
church, with or without infants in it, and give yourself no 
more trouble about its identity with the Church of God now. 
Find an account of any church at all in the time of Abra- 
ham before you trouble yourself about its identity or simi- 
larity with any thing. The nation of Israel in the wilder- 
ness — Acts vii : 38 — is called " the church in the wilderness," 
in the common version, but by the Bible union, " the con- 
gregation in the wilderness." This congregation in the wil- 
derness certainly is not identical with the Church now, nor 
similar. 

18 



210 THE TWO COVENANTS. 

2. The Lord said, after he had entered on his public 
ministry — Matt, xvi: 18 — "On this rock I will "build my 
church." Notice, he docs not say have built, but will build. 
This does not refer to an event past, but future. It does not 
refer to a church built in the time of Adam, Abraham, or 
Moses, or to one built any time before the Lord came into 
the world, but to one which the Lord said " I ivill build." 
As certain as this language is true, the church, or commu- 
nity, established by the Savior was not built or established 
when the Lord uttered the words " I will build my church." 

3. Paul says — Eph. ii : 14-18 — "For he is our peace, 
who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of 
partition ; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, the law 
of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might 
make the two one new man in himself, making peace ; and 
might reconcile both to God in one body by the cross, hav- 
ing slain the enmity thereby." What is the Lord repre- 
sented as. doing here? As making one — making one new 
man. The word " man " here is used figuratively. What 
does it stand for? For the body, community, or church 
which Christ established. Then, it will make sense to in- 
sert the word church instead of the word " man." What 
did the Lord then make of the two? — "one new church." 
It was not, then, the continuation of one old church, but the 
making of one new church. This ought to end all idea of 
the perpetuation of an old church, and turn our attention to 
the one new church, which the Lord said " I will build," 
and which he did build. 

4. To whom did Peter preach his first discourse after 
the Holy Spirit came on him and his fellow-apostles, to 
guide them into all truth ? Certainly, to members of the 
old church, or Jews. They were all in the old, or the Jew- 
ish church, before he preached a word. What became of 
thorn after they hoard Peter and gave themselves to Christ? 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 211 

The history says, "There were, the same day, about three 
thousand added to them." Added to whom ? To the same 
old church to which they already belonged ? By no means ; 
but to the apostles and the one hundred and twenty breth- 
ren — the "one new man," or church, which the Lord said 
" I will build," and which he founded on the day of Pente- 
cost. These weVe in the old church before they heard one 
word from Peter ; were taken out of it and added to them 
— the apostles and brethren, or the new church. 

But now attention must be given more minutely to the 
language of the prophet, Jer. xxxi: 31. He not only says, 
for the Lord, " I will make a new covenant with the house 
of Israel and with the house of Judah," but adds, " It shall 
not be according to the covenant that I made with their 
fathers." If it shall not be according to the covenant made 
with their fathers, wherein shall it differ from it ? He pro- 
ceeds, "They shall not," under the new covenant, "teach 
every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 
Know the Lord." You inquire, why they shall not teach, 
saying, Know the Lord? The reason is, that under the new 
covenant, they shall all know the Lord. ' He will write his 
law on their hearts, in their inward parts, or in their minds, 
and they shall all know him from the least to the greatest. 
It is a condition on which they shall enter the new covenant, 
that they shall know the Lord. They can not enter the new 
covenant without knowing the Lord. In Christ, they " are 
all the children of God by faith." There can not be one in 
the new covenant without faith. This brings us to the grand 
and distinguishing difference between the old covenant and 
the new. The basis of admission is different. Under the 
old covenant, the ground of membership was in a birth of 
flesh, or a purchase with money. The covenant included the 
two classes: 1. "He that is born in thy house." 2. "He 
that is bought with thy money." This included unconscious 



212 TIIE TWO COVENANTS. 

infants, who did not know the Lord, and who had to be 
taught, saying, " Know the Lord." The ignorant heathen 
servant, bought with money, was in the covenant by virtue 
of a purchase with money without knowing the Lord, and 
they were required to teach him to know the Lord. Under 
this covenant there were these two grounds of membership, 
or grounds of which they were in the covenant, without 
knowing the Lord. In the one case, they were in the cov- 
enant on the fleshly basis, or the ground of a blood relation, 
or a fleshly birthright, the same as gives a man an interest 
in his father's estate in our country. In the other, the 
money basis, or a purchase with money. In neither of these 
cases did faith have any thing to do in the matter. They 
were not in the covenant on the ground of faith, any change 
in heart or life, of being " a new creature," or " born 
again." 

Under the new covenant, the best covenant, founded 
on better promises, they are not in it by virtue of the 
first, or natural birth, but being born again; not on the 
ground of being born of parents in the Church, but born of 
God; not on the ground of a fleshly or blood relation to 
man, but a spiritual relation to God; not in the covenant in 
ignorance of God, so as to have to be taught to know the 
Lord, but by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. They do not 
have to be taught, in the new covenant, to know the Lord, 
because they can not enter it without knowing him. Xo 
man comes into this new covenant by being born in Abra- 
ham's family, nor by being purchased with his money, nor 
by being born in any other man's family, or purchased with 
his money; but by being born again, not of the will of the 
flesh, nor of the will of man, but by the will of God ; not of 
corruptible seed, but the incorruptible seed, the "Word of 
God, that lives and abides forever. No matter, under the 
new covenant, what blood a man has in his veins, nor to 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 213 

what nation lie belongs. That is all nothing. The warning 
now is, " Say not we have Abraham for our father." " We 
have no confidence in the flesh." " If any man is in Christ, 
he is a new creature." Circumcision avails nothing, nor un- 
circumcision, but a new creature. 

This introduces us to the most degrading, corrupting, and 
damaging error that ever took effect on the interests of the 
kingdom of God — the error of retrograding to the old fleshly 
basis of membership, and making flesh and not spirit the 
ground of membership in the Church. This was the precise 
thing that came up in the conversation between the Savior and 
Nicodemus. The Savior knew that Nicodemus was standing 
on fleshly birth, his blood relation to Abraham, and swept all 
that away by informing him, that " Except a man be born 
again he can not see the kingdom of God." This astonished 
the rabbi, and he instantly inquired, " How can these things 
be?" The Lord explained to him, that " Except a man be 
born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the 
kingdom of God," and further on, " That which is born of the 
flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." 
" Wonder not," said he, " that I said you must be born again." 
If this teaching of our Lord were fully unfolded, how many 
thousands of honest souls, who have been misled and made to 
believe they were in the covenant, or in the Church, who are 
not, would never rest till they would, by faith, enter into 
Christ, or, which is the same, into his body, the Church ? 

Nine-tenths of all the Church members in the world, if the 
language of the Savior with Nicodemus were carried out, in 
the true meaning and spirit of it, would find that they are not 
in the body of Christ, the Church. They would find that 
they have been misled — deceived — and that they are not in 
Christ. Lift up your eyes and survey the field. The Pope 
claims two hundred millions of human beings under his do- 
minion, or about one-sixth of the population of the globe. 



214 THE TWO COVENANTS. 

There are now about three millions and a half of these, or 
something near one person in eleven of the whole population, 
in the United States, all claimed as members of the Church. 
On what grounds are all these claimed as members of the 
Church? On the ground of faith? of any divine change in 
heart or life? any personal holiness or piety? TsTo; nothing 
of this kind. Any knowledge of God ? By no means, for 
they were, at least nine-tenths of them, in the Church before 
they knew there was a God or Savior. Suppose Archbishop 
Purcell were to step up before us, and you would inquire 
of him, Are you a member of the Church ? Certainly, he 
would reply, and not simply a member, but a member of 
the only true Church. How do you suppose he became a 
member? A gentleman probably would respond: "I sup- 
pose, sir, that he read the doctrines of Holy Mother Church, 
and became convinced that she was the true Church, and 
joined." At first thought, it appears very reasonable that 
such should have been the case, but the truth is far other- 
wise. He never joined " Holy Mother Church, " as you call 
it, nor any other church. He was in the Romish Church 
before he knew his right hand from his left ; before he knew 
there was a God, a Savior, or a Church; not by "being born 
again" but by his birth of the flesh, or by virtue of his 
mother being in the Church when he was born. 

Some one thinks this is true of Romanists, but not of 
others. But let us look ; the Greek Church is put down in 
the Cyclopedia Americana at sixty-six millions. On what 
basis is the membership of all these ? The same as the Ro- 
manists. Their membership is founded in a blood relation, 
and they are in the Church before they have any faith or 
knowledge of God. Regeneration is not known among them. 
There are about seven millions of Jews in the world, all mem- 
bers on the fleshly basis, and in the Church by virtue of a blood 
relation. What shall be said more? Look at that civil, 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 215 

moral, quiet, and peaceable Friend, or Quaker, with his 
broad-brimmed hat, his round-breasted and drab-colored 
coat, as he sedately walks in, and inquire of him, whether 
he is a member of the Church. He answers, Certainly. 
You inquire when and where he joined the Church. He 
explains to you that he never joined the Church at all ! A 
member of the Church, and never joined ! How can that 
be ? How would he show that he is a member of the Church 
if he never joined? Show it from the Bible ! Ho you in- 
quire, what part of the Bible? The answer is, from the 
leaves containing the family record, showing that his mother 
was a member when he was born, and consequently he has 
a birthright. His membership has nothing to do with 
faith, the influence of the Spirit, the knowledge of God, his 
own volition or action, but was secured by a birth of the 
flesh. Yet he talks about "the light within" and the 
"teaching of the Spirit," but nothing of this kind had any 
thing to do with making him a member of the Church. 

No doubt many professional and scientific men have 
looked on preachers as a very stupid class, disputing 
about sprinkling a little water on the face of an infant, and 
they have turned to their pursuits, thinking the question 
one of no consequence. But they misapprehend the ques- 
tion. It is not one about sprinkling water on the face of an 
infant or any body else, much water, or little water, that we 
are discussing. The inquiry is about making a member of 
the Church without faith, without the knowledge of God, a 
single divine impression on the heart, any influence of the 
Spirit of God, the person ? s own heart or conscience having 
any thing to do with it. Here is where the controversy lies. 
The ground here maintained is, that no human being can be 
a member of the body of Christ without faith, a change in 
heart and life — the heart, conscience, and volition being in- 
volved in the matter. 



216 THE TWO COVENANTS. 

An English lady, once a school teacher, heard a discourse 
that roused her considerably, and, in the private circle, in- 
troduced the subject of "infant baptism," as she styled it. 
The preacher told her that there was a matter lying back 
of that of much more importance to her. She inquired 
what it was. He told her that some people insisted that 
no religious rite, ordinance, or act, could be of any value 
unless the heart was in it, and inquired how she looked on 
that matter. She said she insisted the same herself. He 
inquired what was meant by the terms professors and non- 
professors of religion. She replied, illustrating by the pro- 
fession of law, medicine, and teaching. He then said: 
" Madam, did you ever, for yourself, from your own heart 
and with your own lips, make a profession of the religion 
of Christ?" She replied: "My dear mother consecrated 
me to the Lord when I was a little child." The preacher 
continued: "I presume your mother was a good woman and 
did many good things; but I am inquiring into what you 
have done yourself. The apostle says : ' To whom you yield 
yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are.' Did you 
ever from your own heart make a profession yourself, or 
yield yourself to God?" Under much excitement she rose 
and left the room. After hearing a few more discourses, 
she came forward, stood up before her God and Savior, and 
from her own heart and with her own mouth, confessed the 
Savior of the world, and yielded herself to be a servant of 
God. 

After all the ado we have had about heart-work, heart- 
religion, doing from the heart, etc., the strongest charge 
lying against the popular religion of our times is that there 
is not enough heart and faith in it. The heart-work is the 
very thing that is lacking. The idea of making a member 
of the Church, not only without the "heart-work," so called, 
but without faith, a single spiritual impression, religious 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 217 

idea, or even knowledge of the existence of God, or even 
the exercise of human volition, is one of the most prepos- 
terous and absurd things in the records of history. Take 
another illustration of the principle involved. A preacher 
was once on a train of cars and soon saw that the two gen- 
tlemen sitting just in front of him were both preachers; that 
they resided in the same city and were rather intimate ac- 
quaintances with each other ; that one was a Methodist and 
the other a Presbyterian. As the train glided on, they en- 
gaged in conversation, sometimes bordering on argument, 
touching the comparative merits of their respective churches. 
After many pleasant hints had been made, the Methodist 
preacher said to the Presbyterian, " We have the advantage 
of you in our church." "In what?" inquired the other. 
"We give all their choice in baptism; if they require im- 
mersion, we immerse; if they prefer sprinkling, we sprinkle, 
or pouring, we pour." The other appeared perplexed with 
this. There was a show of liberality in it that the other 
did not know how to offset. The Methodist preacher 
seemed to triumph, in this liberty in his church, of all hav- 
ing their "choice of modes." After talking loud and in a 
somewhat exultant manner for some moments, he turned to 
the preacher sitting back of him, knowing nothing as to 
who he was, and, seeing that he was listening to the con- 
versation, said, " Stranger, do you not think I have the bet- 
ter of the argument?" "What church do you represent?" 
said the strange preacher. " The Methodist Episcopal 
Church," said he. "Did you say you give all their choice 
between sprinkling, pouring, and immersion?" "I did," 
said he. " I believe you baptize infants sometimes," said 
the stranger. " I do," said he. " What becomes of the 
choice of an infant when you baptize it?" inquired the 
stranger. He did not tell. It has no choice, not only be- 
tween sprinkling, pouring, and immersion, but it has no 
19 



218 THE TWO COVENANTS. 

choice between Romanists and Protestants, any more than 
the types that shall print these words have, whether they 
will print these or some other words ; no more choice than 
the brick in your house, whether they would go into it, or 
into some other house. 

Some years since, when that mysterious political organiza- 
tion, styled " Know-Xothings," was in full blast in this 
country, they stated in their publications, that Romish girls, 
hired as servants in Protestant families, would fall in love 
with the good lady's little infant, and when the mother 
would be out, steal off with it to a priest, to sprinkle water 
on it, in the name of the Trinity, and thus make a Roman 
Catholic of it. This was rung in the ears of the archbishop 
in Cincinnati for weeks. By Protestants it was regarded as 
a most cruel thing, to take a little infant child and allow a 
priest to bind its soul down in a system of religion before 
it could have any choice or knowledge in the matter, or even 
know good or evil. Xor did any one ever think the thing 
any worse than it was. The transaction, on the part of the 
priest, was the most insidious, unmanly, and covert of all 
transactions. The idea of a priest, who can't prove his 
doctrine, and is afraid to try it, through the assistance of an 
innocent, but deluded girl, as he goes through society, seek- 
ing and obtaining the opportunity to bind down the soul of 
an unconscious infant and performing the act, is certainly 
disgusting to an American citizen of intelligence! What 
wonderful learning and talent it must require to proselyte 
an infant child, without a spiritual impulse or idea of the 
will of God to man. 

But how much worse is it for a Romish girl, who believes 
it will be lost if it is not in the Romish Church, to do this, 
than for the Protestant mother to take it to her preacher and 
have him bind its soul down in a system before she knows 
whether it will believe in that system, in God or the Savior? 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 219 

"What becomes of all freedom, on the part of the child, voli- 
tion, private judgment, and even conscience? What be- 
comes of faith, repentance, confession, volition? All these 
are swept away, and a scheme of making members of infants, 
without faith, a change of heart, any knowledge of God or 
the Savior is adopted ! This is a grand scheme for a class 
of men not able to advocate their religious system, by argu- 
ment, reason, and Scripture before intelligent men and wo- 
men. These little folks can make no resistance. They can 
be made Mohammedans as easily as any thing, if the mother 
is so disposed. How different all this from the Gospel, 
preached by the holy apostles, which appeals to the judg- 
ment, the heart, and consciences of men and women, con- 
vincing them that Jesus is the Lord, and teaches them that 
to whomsoever they yield themselves servants to obey, his 
servants they are. The infant yields not itself, but is bound 
down by the consent of the mother and the act of the priest 
before it can yield itself to any thing. 

" Then," says a man, " you have no salvation for infants." 
Is that so? Do you believe they will be lost, if they are 
not in the Church ? " No," you say. Then, if you can 
find infant salvation without their being in the Church, why 
may not others find the same salvation for them? But what 
do you give them more than those who do not take them 
into the Church? You give them no Gospel, knowing that 
they can not understand or receive it. They give them 
none. So far you and they are even. You give them no 
faith and they give them none. Here you and they are even 
again. You give them no repentance and they give them 
none. This brings you out even again. You do not believe 
the infant will be lost if it is not in the Church, and they do 
not. Here you agree again. What, then, do you give the 
infant which they do not ? Nothing under the sun, only a 
few drops of water on its face. If you, then, have salvation 



220 THE TWO COVENANTS. 

for it and we have not, it is water salvation and precious 
little of the water at that. 

" What, then, will you do with infants?" says a man. 
Kothing, till they can know the Lord. Till they can be- 
lieve, nothing can be done for them, nor do they need any 
thing. Till they can know the Lord and believe, they are 
not subjects of religion, not accountable. They need no 
faith, repentance, confession, nor membership in the Church. 
They need no Church. They have no personal or actual sin. 
Hence Jesus said of them, " Of such is the kingdom of God," 
and to persons of the years of accountability, he said, " Ex- 
cept you repent and become as little children, you can not 
enter into the kingdom of God." This shows that he did 
not style them little sinners, needing baptism or church- 
membership to save them, but as needing nothing, only what 
any saint needs, a resurrection from the dead and glorifica- 
tion to prepare them for heaven. 

No one need begin now to think or talk of children grow- 
ing up in heathenism. Nothing of that sort is here encour- 
aged, but the farthest possible from it. All here said is in 
reference to children in infancy, or before they can be taught 
any thing. As soon as possible, teach them to know the 
Lord, to confide in him, or believe on him and love him. 
As soon as they are capable, teach them to yield themselves to 
his divine and glorious authority. Teach them the whole 
will of God as soon as you possibly can. This is not only 
right, but you arc required to do it. This is a very different 
thing from binding them down by a vow placed on them 
before they can know any thing. 

It is now seen that to hear, believe, repent, turn to God, 
and become a member of the Church, is a personal thing. It 
is a personal act, and personal responsibility is involved in it. 
This perfectly corresponds with the whole new institution. 

But now one starts up from a new point, admitting all that 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 221 

has gone before, and says, u I plant myself here : John the 
Immerser immersed the Savior in Jordan and, as he stood 
on the bank of the Jordan, the Holy Spirit came on him and 
consecrated him High Priest of the Christian profession. I, 
therefore, maintain, that he entered his priestly office imme- 
diately after his immersion." Are you sure of that? There 
are several things that you should settle before you thus 
decide : 

1. Where have we an account of his acting as priest while 
on earth ? Certainly, if he entered his priestly office during 
his personal ministry, his biographers have wholly omitted to 
mention it. Not one word have we in the book, either about 
his being consecrated priest immediately after his immersion, 
or even officiating as priest while on earth. This idea is 
without one scrap of authority in the book of God. 

2. Paul says, Heb. viii: 4, "For if he were on earth he 
could not be a priest, seeing that there are already priests who 
offer gifts according to the law." He u entered not into the 
holy places made with hands, figures of the true; but into 
heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." 
See Heb. ix: 24. He never officiated on earth, as a priest, 
nor in the holy place on earth, but in the true holy place. 
When he was bleeding, suffering, and dying on the cross, he 
was not in the capacity nor performing the functions of a 
priest. He was then the bleeding, suffering, and dying victim. 
He was not after the order of Aaron, nor Levi; belonged 
not to the Aaronic nor the Levitical priesthood, but was a 
priest forever after the order of Milchisedec, who was without 
descent — that is, lineal descent, belonging to neither of the 
priestly lines in the old institution. He could not be a 
priest while these old priests were in authority. Their author- 
ity closed when Jesus died and nailed the handwriting of 
ordinances to the cross. This was the end of the law for 
righteousness. When the law of carnal commandments was 



222 THE TAVO COVENANTS. 

abolished, taken out of the way, and Jesus had ascended to 
heaven, the true holy place, and not with the blood of bulls 
and of goats, but with his own blood, as the Great High 
Priest of the Christian profession, he appeared in the presence 
of God for us, to purge us forever from our sins. 

Under the law the high priests had to enter the holy places 
on earth with the blood of bulls and of goats, to offer for 
their own sins and also for the sins of the people. But these 
offerings could not take away sins, but only laid them over 
another year, when they were in the same manner brought 
up in remembrance. Thus all the sins, even of the saints, 
still remained and were brought into remembrance every year. 
But when Christ, with the better sacrifice — the sacrifice of 
himself and his own blood — appeared in heaven, the true holy 
place, once for all, he purged us forever from our sins. There 
will be no more animal remembrance of sins and no more 
sin-offerings. He is the end of sin-offering. Our sins and 
iniquities will be brought into remembrance, in the holy places 
on earth, by the high priests, no more forever. Jesus, with 
his one offering, has purged us forever from our old sins. As 
our high priest, he can now be touched with the feeling of our 
infirmity, and we can therefore come boldly to the throne of 
grace and obtain help in every time of need. 

In this better covenant, on better promises, we have none, 
who entered in infancy, without knowing the Lord, nor any 
who were brought into the covenant by a purchase with money, 
without knowing the Lord, who have to be taught saying, 
" Know the Lord/' but all in the covenant are these by faith, 
by knowing the Lord, and their own voluntary act. By their 
own sin-offering their sins have been purged forever, and there 
is no more remembrance of their sins. They can now offer 
the daily sacrifice, the fruit of their lips, as the true worship- 
ers, who worship in spirit and in truth. Their religion is 
not founded in flesh and blood. It is no matter what nation, 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 223 

kindred, or tongue they are of. The matter now is a new 
creature — not to be born of the will of the flesh, nor of the 
will of man, but of the will of God. 

This new covenant, or testament, was to be written on the 
heart, in the mind, in their inward parts, and, of course, they 
would all know him from the least to the greatest. How 
was this writing to be made ? How was the law to be written 
on their hearts or in their minds? There are two ways of 
ascertaining how this was to be done: 1. By ascertaining the 
meaning of this figurative language, and applying it. 2. By 
going to where the Lord actually put his law into their minds, 
and learning how he did it. What, then, is the meaning of 
this figurative language? Literally, there is no writing on 
the heart or in the mind. The real import is, that it should 
be put into their minds or understandings. This is repre- 
resented by the figure of writing. In this figure, the Lord is 
the writer. He says "I will write." The heart answers to 
the paper, or it is that on which the writing is made. " I 
will write it on their hearts." The apostles had an instru- 
mentality in it, for Paul says, speaking of this writing, " It 
was ministered by us " — the apostles. They occupied {the 
place of the pen. But this writing was not with ink, but by 
" the Spirit of the living God." The Spirit, then, answers to 
the ink in this figure. 

When the appointed time had come, for the law of " the 
Lord to go forth from Jerusalem," and all things were ready 
for the Lord to commence writing, as in all cases of writing, 
the first thing was to fill the pen with ink. The apostles 
answered to the pen, and he filled them with the Holy Spirit, 
which answered to the ink. Through the apostles, filled with 
the Holy Spirit, God spoke the law. When the people heard 
it " they were cut to the heart/' 

But, laying aside all figures, how did the Lord put his 
law, the new covenant, into the minds of the people? The 



224 THE TWO COVENANTS. 

answer is, that the Gospel was preached by the Holy- 
Spirit sent down from heaven, which things the angels de- 
sired to look into. This was in accordance with the divine 
arrangement, for the Lord commissioned the apostles to 
" Go, disciple all nations " — to " Go into all the world, and 
preach the Gospel to every creature." Paul was sent to the 
people, and to the Gentiles, to " turn them from darkness to 
light, and from the power of Satan to God." "To me," 
says Paul, " is this grace given, that I should preach among 
the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make 
all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which in 
other ages was hid in God, who created all things by Jesus 
Christ." See Eph. i : 10. The Lord says, in his last pub- 
lic address to his Father, " The words which thou gavest 
me I have given them, and they have kept thy word" 
These words contained the law of the Lord. The Father 
gave them to our Lord, the Messiah, and he gave them to 
the apostles. The Lord then prays for them who should 
believe on him, through their word. 

How, then, did he put his law into the minds of the 
people? He gave it to his Son, the Mediator of the new 
covenant. He gave it to the holy apostles, whom he had 
chosen as his embassadors. They were then filled with the 
Holy Spirit to bring all things to their remembrance, and 
preached this law of the Lord. The people heard it, and 
were cut to the heart, and cried out, " What shall we do?" 
This is the manner in which he put his law into their minds 
— wrote it on their hearts. Here, now, are persons inquir- 
ing at the door of the kingdom for admission. They want 
the door opened to them. Here is the man with the keys of 
the kingdom, ready to open the door, indorsed by the state- 
ment of the King: "Whatever you shall bind on earth 
shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on 
earth shall be loosed iu heaven." Whatever terms of ad- 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 225 

niittance into the kingdom, or of remission of sins, he shall 
make known in opening the door or answering the question, 
" What shall we do ? " will be ratified or bound in heaven. 
The terms of entrance into the kingdom, or of pardon, set 
forth by Peter, on Pentecost, were bound or ratified in 
heaven, and the persons released from their sins, in accord- 
ance with these terms, are really released, and those not re- 
leased in accordance with these terms are really not released 
at all. The setting forth of these terms of pardon, or ad- 
mittance into the kingdom of God, and thus opening the 
way to inquiring persons, was using the keys of the king- 
dom — unlocking the door. These terms are now incorpora- 
ted in the new covenant, or the law of the Lord, and 
written on the hearts of all in the covenant. No man has 
any thing to do now, in displaying his charity, by any modi- 
fication of terms of the covenant. The true man of God 
does not tamper with the terms of induction. He is neither 
charitable nor uncharitable in the case. He is in no way 
responsible for the terms of the covenant. His work is 
honestly to present them as he finds them, giving assurance 
that the new covenant, with the terms of induction into the 
kingdom, or, which is the same, the terms of pardon, and 
every thing else in it, is sanctioned by the " two immutable 
things" — the promise and the oath of God. This covenant, 
or the law of the Lord, is the immutable counsel of his will. 
Men may rely on its terms of pardon for the alien who would 
turn to God, and for the disciple of Jesus who is overtaken 
in a fault, with the fullest and most unshaken confidence. 

This covenant is the last will and testament — the last, the 
final effort, so to speak — of our most gracious and merciful 
God, to reclaim and bring back an apostate and sinful race. 
It contains the infinite goodness and love. It is confirmed 
by the predictions of all the holy prophets, the testimony of 
all the apostles, and the Lord himself, surrounded by the 



226 THE TWO COVENANTS. 

most sublime displays of supernatural power, backed up by 
the greatest purity of both teaching and practice. It comes 
clothed with all authority in heaven and earth, backed lip 
by the oath of God, the crown and the throne in heaven. 
This covenant is sealed by the blood of Jesus and signed by 
the great name of Jehovah. It offers a free and plenary 
pardon to all offenders on simple and easy terms. It offers 
the richest rewards to all its subjects — the grandest inherit- 
ance ever proposed to erring mortals — a house not made 
with hands eternal in the heavens? — a home in the eternal 
city, the New Jerusalem — eternal bliss and happiness. This 
is his last offer, his last invitation to man. The time will 
soon be out. The door will soon be closed. The language 
will soon be applicable, " He that is holy, let him be holy 
still," " he that is filthy, let him be filthy still." This will 
be the end of all invitation, of all turning to God, of all 
reformation. 

On the other hand, the threatenings against the persist- 
ently impenitent are of the most fearful, terrible, and a wild 
character. Human speech can utter nothing more fearful 
than "the fire that shall never be quenched/' where "their 
worm dies not," " the lake of fire," " tormented day and 
night forever and ever," " everlasting punishment," " weep- 
ing, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth." The punishment 
represented by such terms as these is the last resort with the 
incorrigible, the determined, and obstinate opponents of God 
and righteousness. In reference to them, God has sworn that 
to Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess, 
for he must reign till he puts all enemies under his feet. 

It is now an "acceptable time and a day of salvation." 
"To-day, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts 
as in the bitter provocation." The Lord " is not willing 
that any should perish, but that all should come to re- 
pentance." 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 227 

Do you reply, sinner, that you " belong to the big 
church " — that " if you are lost, you will have plenty of 
company ? " So did the masses, in the time of Noah, belong 
to the " big church." Noah did not belong to the " big 
church." The "big church" was destroyed. Noah and 
his family were saved. Lot did not belong to the " big 
church." He was saved and the "big church" was de- 
stroyed. 

" If your doctrine is true, there will be but few saved." 
That may be. You might have said that to Noah and to 
Lot, and your words would have proved true. There were 
but few saved. In human governments, if a large number 
are condemned, the heart of man would fail to execute them. 
In the divine government the condemned will be punished, 
no matter whether many or few. The Lord is able to bring 
the guilty to punishment, and justice demands it. If all are 
found guilty, then all will be punished. 

" But there is time enough yet." Where have you ob- 
tained any revelation in reference to the time you have got? 
You have no revelation in reference to it at all. You may 
be in the very last day of your time, now giving attention 
to the last exhortation, in the last sermon, concerning the 
last will of God to man, you will ever hear. Every one 
either has heard, or will hear, the last discourse some time. 
You know not, then, that this is not the last discourse, and 
this the last exhortation you will ever hear. Tamper not, 
trifle not, and be not indifferent, but hear the entreaties of 
those who love you, and the Lord who died for you. Turn 
away from the world, from your sins and follies, and come 
to him who is " the way, the truth, and the life," and be 
made unspeakably happy now and prepared for eternal 
happiness in the world to come. 



SERMON, No. X. 

THEME -THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 

Text— "Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to 
rise from the dead the third day : and that repentance and remission of 
sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning in 
Jerusalem."— Litke xxiv : 46, 47. 

This Scripture is selected with the intention of discours- 
ing on the beginning of repentance and remission of sins in 
the name of Christ among all nations, or what is the same, 
the beginning of the reign of Christ, or the inauguration of 
the new institution. There was a grand change when the 
law ended and the Gospel commenced; when the Mosaic 
dispensation terminated and the Christian was introduced; 
when the work of the mediator of the first covenant closed, 
and the work of the mediator of the second covenant had 
culminated in an established institution, fully and com- 
pletely set in operation. Some have become weary of dis- 
cussing such themes, call them " first principles," and say 
"we must go on to perfection." But there is reason to 
question the soundness of any man who talks of " leaving 
the first principles." The child may learn the English al- 
phabet by the time it is four years of age, but it will never 
advance so far in literature as to have no use for that alpha- 
bet ; or it may learn figures by the same period in life, 
but will never go on to such perfection as not to have use 

(229) 



230 THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 

for these numerals. So the faith that first moved the heart 
of the sinner to tarn to the Lord, then comforted the heart 
of the saint, will be his support when dying. He will 
never leave faith, unless he apostatizes from the Lord. In 
the same way, we can never leave any thing that is truly a 
principle of the Gospel, but must hold on to the first, middle, 
and last principles till we die. 

Xot only so, but there is a rising generation constantly 
coming on, that have never heard nor understood the first 
principles of the Gospel, who must be taught* from the start- 
ing-point, and the principles shown up to them. For the 
want of this, in many instances, where churches have stood 
for a long time, and people have grown up without much 
religious instruction, they have, by personal influence and 
some warm and affectionate appeals, been brought into the 
Church not knowing the first principles or any other prin- 
ciples of the Gospel, and without having any love of the 
truth, or even knowing what it is. There are but few who 
understand the first principles who do not know all the 
principles; but it is hard to find one who, knowing the first 
principles well, does not love them ; who knows or loves any 
of the principles of the Gospel, or respects, adores, or honors 
him who gave them. But to the subject in hand. 

He who devotes himself to the disastrous work of per- 
verting men, delights in obscuring that which should be 
clear, in darkening counsel where there should be light, 
in throwing that into doubt where there should be the full 
assurance of faith. Hence the efforts to hide from the un- 
derstandings of men the beginning of the reign of Christ. 
Such desire no man to have the clear light of the beginning 
and setting in operation the new Church, with the develop- 
ment of the clear and easy terms of reconciliation. This 
knowledge is fatal to his work of delusion and deception. 
One man perverts till he denies that there is any kingdom 



, THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 231 

even yet in existence, and induces him to believe that the 
kingdom has not yet come. Another is busily engaged in 
maintaining that the kingdom was established in the time 
of John the Immerser. In one word, in all his machinations, 
he is satisfied with any way, not only in this matter, but 
every other, excej^t the right way. The right way never suits 
him. Attention must now be given to these perversions. 

1. Is the kingdom now in existence? Is Jesus now 
King? The main burden of the mission of John the Im- 
merser was to announce that " the kingdom of heaven is at 
hand." This, too, was a main item in the preaching of the 
apostles under the first commission, as also of the seventy. 
Could it have been proper for them to have preached that 
the kingdom is at hand, when its establishment was eighteen 
hundred years off? During this same period he taught 
them to pray, " Thy kingdom come." The Lord said to 
them, " Fear not, little flock ; it is the Father's good pleas- 
ure to give you the kingdom." "There be some of them 
standing here who shall not taste of death, till they have 
seen the kingdom of God come with power." See Mark ix : 
1, and Luke ix : 27. Some seek a fulfillment of this in the 
transfiguration, but the kingdom of heaven did not there 
" come with power," nor in any other way. To say the 
most of it, that was no more than a representation of the 
king in his state of glory, as he now appears in heaven, and 
not even a representation of the kingdom. He unquestion- 
ably intended them to understand that, w r hile some of them 
were yet living, they should see the kingdom come with 
power. They preached, then, that the kingdom was at hand, 
prayed for it to come, and had the promise that some of 
them should see it come with power before they should taste 
death. This all points to the establishment of the kingdom 
at an early period. 

After the ascension of the Savior, we find not an intima- 



232 THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 

tion of any man praying " Thy kingdom come," nor any 
divine teacher enjoining any such prayer. They continued 
to preach that " the kingdom is at hand," and to pray for it 
to come till it did come — till they saw it come with power, 
but never preached or prayed so from that time forward. 

That the Church and kingdom mean the same, see the fol- 
lowing : " Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my 
Church ; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 
And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; 
and whatever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in 
heaven; and whatever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be 
loosed in heaven." See Matt, xvi : 18, 19. What is the 
Lord's theme here? Certainly the foundation of the Church, 
the rock on which Christ will build his Church. " You are 
Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church," and to you 
" will I give the keys of the kingdom." Has he changed to 
another theme ? or is not what he calls " my Church " the same 
as "the kingdom of heaven?" The Church here is unques- 
tionably the same as the kingdom. "Keys," here, symbol- 
ize the power to open the Church or kingdom, or, which is 
the same thing, the terms of pardon ; the terms of pardon 
being the same as the terms of induction into the kingdom. 
Where was Peter to use these keys? ""Whatever you shall 
bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven ; and whatever you 
shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven." Where is 
he who has the keys of the kingdom of heaven to do this 
binding and loosing ? " Whatever you shall bind on earth" 
— " whatever you shall loose on earth." It is to be done on 
earth. How is Peter to use the keys of the kingdom, in 
binding and loosing, or opening and .-hutting, on earth, if the 
kingdom itself, the door of which he is to open, is not on 
earth f Xo man who denies the existence of the kingdom 
"on earth," in the time of Peter, can tell how this could 
have been done. But the truth is, the kingdom is the 



THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 233 

Church, and the keys, the power conferred on Peter by the 
great Head of the Church, to open the way into the Church, 
or kingdom, which he did by laying down the terms of sal- 
vation. 

These things being so, we have the following clear state- 
ments in reference to an existing kingdom after Peter had 
used the keys. Col. i: 13, Paul says of the disciples, that 
they "had been delivered from the power of darkness, and 
translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son." Could 
they have been translated into a kingdom that was not in 
existence? The kingdom had come, as the Lord promised, 
and in answer to the prayer "Thy kingdom come; thy will 
be dene on earth/' and was in existence, and the saints at 
Colossee were in the kingdom of God's dear Son. In Paul's 
letter to the Hebrews, xii : 22-28, he speaks of "the church 
of the first-born" and the "kingdom" as the same, not as 
something in the future; but says, "You have come to Mount 
Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to 
the general assembly and church of the first-born, who are 
enrolled in heaven;" and further on, he adds: "Wherefore, 
we receiving a kingdom which can not be moved, let us 
have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably." 1 Thess. 
ii: 13, Paul said to the saints, " God has called you into his 
kingdom and glory." Rev. i: 9, John speaks of the seven 
churches in Asia as "his companions in the kingdom and 
patience of Jesus Christ." This is enough to show that the 
kingdom was in existence in the time of the apostles, and 
the saints had been "called into it," "received it," been 
"translated into it," and were actually "in the kingdom 
and patience of Jesus Christ." This must suffice for those 
who deny the existence of any kingdom on earth at the 
present. 

2. Did the kingdom come in the life-time of the Savior? 
Was the Gospel fully preached and were any introduced into 
20 



234 THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 

the kingdom during that period? In these questions will be 
found the main theme for the present discourse. Several 
things must be clearly observed here: 

1. When the kingdom was founded, the keys of the king- 
dom were used, the door opened, the Gospel fully preached, 
and persons introduced into the kingdom. 

2. No person can learn the way into the kingdom with- 
out hearing the Gospel preached, not in promise, nor in 
prophecy, but in its completeness as a full revelation. 

3. What, then, is the Gospel ? " All the preachers claim 
to preach the Gospel, and how am I to tell which is the 
Gospel?" 

There must, then, be some method by which we may iden- 
tify the Gospel; or, at least, we must have some marks with- 
out which we can not have the Gospel fully preached. The 
Bible is not a book of definitions, but it defines some things, 
and among these the Gospel. 1 Cor. xv : 3, 4, Paul says, 
" For I delivered to you first of all, that which I also re- 
ceived, how that Christ died for our sins according to the 
Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again 
the third day according to the Scriptures. n This passage 
develops three things, without which we can not have the 
the Gospel in its full development. 1. It must be preached 
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. 2. 
That he was buried. 3. That he rose from the dead accord- 
ing to the Scriptures. Whatever may be required more, 
these central and fundamental items must exist in the Gos- 
pel. Any thing claiming to be the Gospel without these 
items, would be utterly empty. To these items, two more 
must be added. That Jesus shed his blood for many for the 
remission of sins, must as certainly be found in it as that the 
Lord Jesus is divine. The office and work of the Holy 
Spirit must also be set forth in the Gospel. Any system 
without the death of Christ, his burial, resurrection, his 



THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 235 

blood, with the office and work of the Holy Spirit, would 
not be received by any intelligent people. To this, all 
worthy of any note will agree. 

The way is now clear to look for the Gospel and see if we 
can find where it was fully preached first. It will be simpler 
and easier to divide oif into periods. Take, then, the entire 
period from Adam to John the Immerser, and inquire which 
one of the holy men, the ancient seers, or men whom God 
authorized to speak to man, ever preached that Jesus died 
for our sins according to the Scriptures? The answer cer- 
tainly is, none of them. Which one of these holy men 
preached that the Lord was buried ? Not a man of them. 
Which one of them ever preached that he rose from the 
dead according to the Scriptures? Not a single man of 
them. Which one of them ever preached that the Lord 
shed his blood for many for the remission of sins? Not a 
man during the entire period to which reference is here 
made. Which one of them ever set forth the office and 
work of the Holy Spirit? None of them. No matter how 
good the men, how strong their faith, nor how pious, these 
were not their themes. These great fundamental and cen- 
tral matters of the kingdom, filling such a large space in the 
apostles' preaching, had no place in their teaching. These 
were matters but dimly shadowed forth in their predictions 
and not understood by any man of that entire period. How, 
then, let it be inquired, did they preach the Gospel without 
preaching that Jesus died, was buried, rose again, shed his 
blood, or even setting forth the office and work of the Holy 
Spirit? The answer is simply that they never preached the 
Gospel of Christ in all its fullness or completeness. 

Some one says, " I grant that the Gospel was not preached 
in its completeness and fullness during the period just speci- 
fied. But my ground is this: John the Immerser was the 
first great Gospel preacher. He founded the Church, opened 



236 THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 

the door, preached the Gospel in all its fullness, and intro- 
duced the first persons into the kingdom." Are you sure 
of that? In what part of John's preaching did he preach 
that the Lord died for our sins according to the Scriptures? 
Most assuredly he never preached it at all, for he preached 
his last sermon and died himself before the Lord died. He 
certainly never preached that Jesus died before he did die. 
Xor did he ever preach that the Lord was buried before he 
was buried. The preaching of John was all over before the 
Lord was buried. His preaching was all done before the 
Lord was risen, and he unquestionably never preached that 
the Lord was risen before he was risen. The same is true 
in regard to the shedding of his blood. John had preached 
the last sermon, and his own blood was shed before the Lord 
shed his blood. He certainly did not preach that Jesus shed 
his blood before he did shed it. These were not the themes 
on which John dwelt, nor the themes which the Lord put 
into his mouth. The Lord was not ready for these themes 
yet. 

The inquiry now comes up touching the meaning of 
preaching the Gospel " in its fullness or completeness." 
This must now be explained. " The Gospel was preached to 
Abraham;" and, again, "the Gospel was preached to them 
as well as to us." " What is the meaning of all this," says 
a man, " if the Gospel was not preached before John the Im- 
merser, nor by him ? " The Gospel was preached before 
John, and " the Gospel of the kingdom " by him, but not in 
a complete revelation, or it was only in a mystery. This 
must now be explained. 

1. There is something in the Scriptures called " the eter- 
nal purpose " of God. This " eternal purpose " was in the 
fullness of time to send the Savior, publish the Gospel, estab- 
lish the Church, and unite the Jews and Gentiles in "one 
body." This purpose contained Christ, the Gospel, and all 



THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 237 

things pertaining to the new institution, in a mystery, or a 
secret. It contained the Gospel, " hid in God who created 
all things by Jesus Christ." No human being knew any 
thing about it. 

2. We then have something called " the promise." What 
promise ? The promise that God made to Abraham. See 
Gen. xxii : also, Gal. iii : 8. That which was contained in 
the purpose of God is now embodied in a promise — the 
promise of God to Abraham. This promise contains 
Christ, the Gospel, the Church — the entire new institution. 
It is all couched in the few brief words: "In thee shall all 
the families of the earth be blessed." Still no man under- 
stood what was contained in this promise. It was the Gos- 
pel in promise. 

3. Then comes the prophecies. The same that existed in 
the purpose of God, and then in the promise, is next found 
embodied in prophecy — it is the Gospel in prophecy. 

4. Then came John the Immerser, the twelve apostles, the 
Savior, and seventy others, preaching the good news of the 
kingdom — that the kingdom is at hand — the kingdom ap- 
proaches. This was the Gospel and the kingdom in a pre- 
paratory or an incipient state, or not fully developed and 
unfolded. 

5. When Jesus had died, been buried, shed his blood, 
risen, and ascended into heaven; when he sent the Holy 
Spirit to guide the apostles into all truth, under the last 
commission, they made a full revelation of that which had 
previously existed in a mystery in the different forms just 
described. 

To illustrate what is here meant, suppose some man in 
your community conceives the idea of building a great fac- 
tory, and, after maturing it for a time purposes to do it. There 
is now a factory in purpose, but not in fact, neither running 
nor doing work. X or does any man know any thing of it 



238 THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 

except the man who has it in his purpose, nor has it any 
existence anywhere except in his purpose. It is all a se- 
cret. After a time, in a conversation with some prominent 
men in the community, he embodies his purpose in a promise 
to build a factory. There is yet no factory in existence, 
except in purpose and promise. The promise being known 
in the community, excites some interest and sets inquiry in 
motion. He now advances another step and makes sundry 
predictions in reference to the factory, touching the time 
when it will be completed, the amount of work it will do, 
the advantage it will be to the community, etc. The factory 
still has no existence only in purpose, promise, and prophecy. 
The next thing you hear is that the ground has been broken, 
the foundation laid, materials brought together, machinery 
purchased, etc. It is now a factory in a preparatory or an 
incipient state, but not complete nor doing any work. But 
finally it is finished and set in motion ; the looms clatter, 
the spindles hum; it is now complete and doing work. It 
was a factory first in purpose, then in promise, then in 
prophecy, then in a preparatory or incipient state, then in 
fact, in actual existence, complete in all its parts, doing work. 
So the Gospel and kingdom of God first existed only in the 
purpose of God, then in the promise to Abraham, then in 
the prophecies of the Old Testament, then in the prepara- 
tory or incipient state, and finally in a state of completeness 
and perfection, in full operation on Pentecost. 

But now one more period must be considered. Some man 
will say, " I will go to the apostles during the life-time of the 
Savior, while they were bosom companions with him and re- 
ceiving daily lessons of instruction from his lips. They 
then understood all about the Gospel and kingdom, and set 
out these matters rightly." A very brief consideration of 
the matter will show that you are greatly mistaken in that. 
During the Lord's personal ministry the apostles neither 



THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 239 

understood the Gospel nor the kingdom. There is nothing 
clearer than that they did not understand their Master and 
Leader during this period. They had their minds in one 
direction and the Lord had his in another. The matter 
worked according- to his mind and not according to theirs. 
They found their views full of mistakes and blunders, and 
his without a single mistake. You never find him disap- 
pointed. But take a few examples : 

If any one thinks the apostles preached the Gospel fully, 
during the life-time of the Savior, such an one should consult 
Matt, xvi : 20, " Then charged he his disciples that they should 
tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ." How could they 
preach the Gospel fully without telling any man that " Jesus 
is the Christ?" This is the very first thing to tell in preach- 
ing the Gospel fully, and the very first thing they did tell 
after commencing under the last commission. This restriction 
had to be taken off before they could preach the Gospel fully. 

Again, Matt, xvi: 21, the Lord said to the disciples, "That 
he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders, 
and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and be raised 
again the third day." How did Peter take this? "Then 
Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far 
from thee, Lord, this shall not be to thee." Was Peter all 
right in this? Certainly not; hence, the Lord said, " Get thee 
behind me, Satan; thou art an offense to me, for thou savorest 
not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." 
What did Peter mean? He had his heart on an earthly king- 
dom and an earthly king, and he did not believe that his 
king would be put to death, nor intend to permit it. He in- 
tended to encourage his Master with assurances that he would 
stand by him. If a man doubts the correctness of this, he 
can turn to Matt, xxvi, and read the account of the matter. 
True to his purpose, he "drew a sword and struck a servant 
of the high priest, and cut off his ear." This little comment 



240 THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 

shows whai be meant. He did nol believe at this time that 

JeSUS would (lit 1 , and intended fco fight to defend liim, Still 

believing that he would bean earthly king. The Lord t<>ld 

him to "put up the sword again, for all those who take the 
sword shall perish with the sword." 

Again, " Peter said to him, though all men shall he offended 
because of thee, I never will be offended." The Lord replied, 

" Verily, I say to thee, (hat this night, before the cock cv<>\\, 
thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter said to him, though I should 
die with thee, yet will 1 not deny thee. Likewise said also 
all the disciples.' 1 See Matt. xwi. How did the matter 
turn out? While the Lord was on trial, and needed a friend 
more than he had ever done before, Peter sat "without the 
palace, and a damsel came to him, Saying, Thou also was 
with JeSUS of Galilee. But he denied before (hem all, say- 
ing, I know not what thou sayest." Presently, the matter 
was pressed on him, one saying, "This fellow- was also with 
Jesusof Nazareth/' This "he denied with an oath/ 1 declar- 
ing, "] do not know the man." The third time the matter 
was pressed on him, saying, "Surely thou art also one of 
them, for thy speech betrayeth thee. Then he began tOOUTSe 
and swear, saying, I know not the man." See Matt, wvi: 
69—75. Surely no man's attainments in divine things are 
to be envied who can not sec that this was a preparatory 
period; that things were not ready yet ; that the apostles were 
not yet qualified nor able to preach the ( iospel in all its fullness. 
It was in view of this the Lord said, " Peter, when thou art, 

converted, strengthen thy brethren.' 1 The mind of Peter 

and all the apostles, to say nothing of the disciples and the 
balance of the people, needed turning from t heir cxpcclal ion 
of an earthly kingdom to a kingdom not of this world. 
When he saw the Lord on trial, he did not desire In be iden- 
tified with him, as he was on trial for his Life. He did not 
know what his fete might be. 



TH1 INAIKUil! ATION OF THE RltV INSTITUTION. 241 

Someone might conolude that some of those good women 
that followed him had a better understanding than these men. 
What, then, was the purpose of (hose who went to the Bepul- 
oher early on the morning of the third day? They were 
probably as intelligent as any of (heir time. Were they ex- 
pecting him to pise? Not a word of i(. But they were 
making preparation to embalm his body, to preserve i(. 
When they came to the sepulcher, saw (he stone rolled away, 
an angel sitting on it, looked in, saw the dean linen and 
napkin laid aside in order, but the body was missing, (hey 
were overwhelmed, and asked (he angel, thinking he was a 

man, "Sir, have you removed the body of Jesus?" 'The 

angel said, " He is not here, but has risen as he told you he 
would, and goes before you into Galilee. Hasten and tell his 

disciples." 'They hastened away, with the grand (heme burn- 
ing in (heir hearts, and told it to the disciples, "and their 

words seemed ii> them as idle tales, and they believed them 

not." See Luke xxiv: II. 'Thomas said, k ' Kxecpt I shall 
see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger 
in the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I 

will uot believe." See John \\ •. 25. From considerations 

like these, any person of ordinary intelligence ean see that 

the apostles did not understand that the kingdom would he 
spiritual, but supposed it would be a worldly, civil govern- 
ment till JeSUS died; and, even after he rose from the (lead 
and appeared to them, they said, "Lord, wilt thou a( this 

time restore again the kingdom to Israel.'" See Acts i: (>. 
This puts it out of the question about their preaching the 
Gospel in its fullness, or the kingdom being fully established 
and the reign oi' Christ in operation while he was in this 

world. 

The time was now come to open a brighter chapter than 

Bny in the past, and see whether we have no better tight than 

can be obtained from the apostles while they were unbelievers 
21 



242 THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 

themselves in the main matters to be preached. Xow turn 
attention to where the Lord appears in the midst of the dis- 
ciples, as you read John xx: 26-28, and hear him address 
Thomas: "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; 
and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side; and 
be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and 
said to him, My Lord and my God." There is no account 
of Thomas waiting to examine the nail-prints or the scar in 
his side. He is utterly overwhelmed w T hen he sees the Lord 
standing before him alive. The Lord now proceeds: "All 
authority in heaven and earth is given to me. Go, therefore, 
and teach all nations, immersing them into the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" — " Go into all 
the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He who 
believes and is immersed shall be saved, but he who believes 
not shall be condemned." This was entirely new, and the 
first time they were ever commanded to go into " all the 
world" and "preach the Gospel to every creature." Their 
former commission was to the "lost sheep of the house of 
Israel," but "not in the way of the Gentiles." This limi- 
tation is now taken off, and they have the divine authority 
to "go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every 
creature" — to "disciple all nations." This new commission 
not only differs from the first one in the extent of the terri- 
tory, or the population to which they were to go, but also in 
the substance of it. It contains different matter. Under 
the first commission, they were to preach that "the kingdom 
is at hand;" under the second, to "preach repentance and 
remission of sins in my name." The first commission was 
preparatory to the coming kingdom; the second was the ad- 
ministration of the Gospel under the new reign or institution. 
But the Lord commanded them to "wait for the promise;" 
to "tarry in Jerusalem till you shall be endued with power 
from on high ; " for the " Comforter shall come, and when he 



THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 243 

is come, he shall guide you into all truth." He was still 
not ready for them to proceed, but continued to appear to 
them at intervals, giving abundant opportunity to see him, 
hear him, handle him, eat with him, and drink with him, 
thus making themselves competent witnesses of his resur- 
rection. When about forty days had expired, and the pre- 
paratory work was all done, the time came for his departure. 
He loved the disciples and made a special request for them 
that they might be with him, and behold his glory which the 
Father gave him. See John xvii: 24. He took them out 
to Mount Olive, imparted to them his last benediction while 
on earth, bade them adieu, rose up in their presence and 
started away toward heaven. A heavy cloud was thrown in 
the background — it might be to give grandeur and splendor 
to the scene. As they stood gazing after him as he ascended 
up into heaven, a convoy of angels appeared and shouted, 
"Galileans, why stand you gazing up into heaven? That 
same Jesus that you see going up into heaven, shall so come 
in like manner as you have seen him going up into heaven." 
As he approaches the everlasting city, the mandate is 
heard, "Lift up your heads, O you gates; and be you lift 
up, you everlasting doors ; and the King of glory shall come 
in." Then a response is heard, "Who is this King of 
glory?" The answer is, "The Lord strong and mighty, 
the Lord mighty in battle." Then the shout is raised again, 
"Lift up your heads, O you gates; even lift them up, you 
everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in." 
Again the question is heard, "Who is this King of glory?" 
Then follows the final reply. " The Lord of hosts, he is the 
King of glory." He entered heaven with all our names en- 
graven on his breast, amidst the shouts of joy of all the hier- 
archs of the upper world, and the Almighty commanded all 
the angels to bow down and worship the Christian's Lord, the 
Messiah, Immanuel, God with us. Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, 



244 THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 

and Uriel, with all the shining and burning hosts before the 
throne, bowed in profound awe, and worshiped the glorified 
Redeemer. The Infinite One, the I Am, the Jehovah, rose 
up and invited him to a seat in his throne. While all the 
celestial grandees of the spiritual world looked on our King, 
"the only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords" 
ascended the throne; "sat down at the right hand of the 
throne of the majesty in the heavens." With his own hands 
the Almighty Father crowned him Lord of all; and as he 
could swear by no greater, he took an oath by his own great 
name, that he should reign till all his enemies should be put 
under his feet; till every knee shall bow, and every tongue 
confess that Jesus is the Lord, to the glory of God. 

The coronation ceremonies lasted about a week. During 
this period all was quiet on earth. Indeed, from the death 
of Jesus till this period there was not a preacher in the 
world authorized to utter a word in the form of preaching. 
All was silence and waiting. But when the King had as- 
cended the throne and was crowned Lord of all — when all 
things were ready — the preparatory w r ork was all done, the 
King proceeded, as he had promised, to send the Comforter, 
the Holy Spirit, to guide the apostles into all truth. The 
apostles, with about one hundred and twenty brethren, were 
all together in one place, waiting for the promise. The day 
of Pentecost had " fully come," and " suddenly there was a 
sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it 
filled all the house where they were sitting." See Acts ii : 
2. "And there appeared to them cloven tongues like as of 
fire, and it sat on each of them. And they were all filled 
with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, 
as the Spirit gave them utterance." 

This brings us up to the place of beginning. The Lord 
said that "repentance and remission of sins should be 
preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jeru- 



THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 245 

saleni." Jerusalem is, then, the place of beginning. Peter, 
after his first sermon to the Gentiles, in his vindication be- 
fore his Jewish brethren, in view of receiving the first Gen- 
tile converts, said, "As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit 
fell on them (the Gentiles, at the house of Cornelius) as on 
us (the Jews, on Pentecost) at the beginning." That which 
was done on Pentecost was in the right place (in Jerusalem) 
and at the right time ("at the beginning"). Here, in Jeru- 
salem, is the beginning place, and on the day of Pentecost 
the beginning time. The beginning time and place of what? 
The beginning of the reign of Christ; of preaching under 
the new, and, as may be justly said, the last commission; 
of repentance and remission of sins in the name of Jesus 
Christ. 

But some man inquires, what have you gained by preach- 
ing so long to find the place and time of beginning ? Much 
is gained by it. Without finding this beginning there can 
be no clear and intelligible understanding nor preaching of 
the Gospel. The preacher without this beginning distinctly 
fixed in his mind, can no more preach intelligently than a 
pilot can run his ship to a given point placed out at sea 
without knowing what sea he is in, or without knowing 
where his starting-point is. He could run toward any point 
of the compass called for, but he could not tell you where 
nor when you would land, unless you would give him the 
place of beginning. In like manner, not a surveyor in the 
world can run a line till you give him the "place of begin- 
ning." You can not even make a deed to a lot of land till 
you find what is called "the place of beginning." Since 
surveying has come up, as an illustration, it may be used 
still further to good advantage. Suppose A and B join 
lands. They purchased their lands many years ago when 
lands were cheap, and they were not particular about the 
lines. But now the lands are worth one hundred dollars 



246 THE INAUGURATION OF Til.: NEW INSTITUTION. 

per acre. Mr. A is looking at a fine spring near where the 
line is supposed to be, and noticing the crystal water as it 
ripples over the pebbles below. He also views a magnifi- 
cent row of apple-trees and valuable fence, and thinks if 
the line were run out correctly the spring, trees, and fence 
would be on his land. He talks about it to his neighbors, 
and those who agree with him he regards as very intelligent 
people, much better and more desirable associates than those 
who differ from him. Indeed, those who differ from him 
he considers not very good people, and does not seek their 
company. Mr. B esteems those who think the spring, the 
trees, and fence are on his land, and seeks them for his asso- 
ciates. Thus the controversy continues for a time; but, 
finally, they decide to have the controversy settled. To this 
end they call the surveyor. But, on examination, the sur- 
veyor fails to find a corner-stone, a witness-tree, or land- 
mark of any description on the entire premises. What is 
now to be done? He refers to his field-notes and finds an 
established corner, it may be, some distance from the line to 
be run. After surveying, running lines in different direc- 
tions, and sundry measurements, he points to a spot and 
orders the loose rail that he sees has been made there to be 
removed. When this is done they find the corner-stone, 
with the land-marks on it, corresponding to his field-notes. 
He plants his staff at " the place of beginning," places the 
compass on it, the needle settles, and he is now ready to 
take a look through the compass. A and B are no idle 
spectators, but are looking on with intense interest. Xo 
danger of either becoming drowsy now, though they may 
be first-class sleepers in church. Mr. A slips up and peeps 
through the compass, and perceives that his spring, trees, 
and fence are about to be cut off. Under much excitement 
and not in a very pleasant manner, he turns to the surveyor, 
and exclaims, It is all wrong, sir. The surveyor inquires 



THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 247 

deliberately, What makes you think so? He replies, with 
much feeling, Why, do you not see that you are about to 
cut off my fine spring, my fruit trees and fence? How 
much attention do you suppose a surveyor would give to 
such talk ? About as much as a Gospel preacher would give 
to the man who thinks the Gospel line wrong because it 
cuts off his church. He would probably tell him that he 
should have built his fence and planted his fruit-trees on 
the other side of the line, and that he will run the line 
according to law, as he is bound by his oath to do, if it cut 
off his house and barn into the bargain. 

" But," shouts a man, " what would you do, when the Gos- 
pel line is run, if you should find yourself on the wrong 
side of the line ? " Simply as the man did who had his land 
run off, and found his cabin was on the wrong side of the 
line; he moved over the line, on to the right side, and on to 
his own land. " But," says a man, " I despise to see a turn- 
coat; a man leaving one church and going to another." 
True, there is something a little unpleasant in turning one's 
coat. Still, there is one thing more ridiculous than a man 
turning his coat, and that is to see a man so obstinate as to 
wear his coat wrong side out rather than to turn it. It is 
much wiser and better to turn it, when it is found to be 
wrong side out, than to persist in wearing it wrong side 
out, even if some bigot should say " a turn-coat/'' If you 
make a mistake in roads, and go a wrong road several miles, 
it is unpleasant to turn and go back to where you got out 
of the road, but it is much wiser and better to do it than 
to continue on in the wrong road. Who will not admit that 
Luther did better, in turning, than he would have done to 
have continued in Romanism? The matter of turning all 
depends on the question whether you are right or not. If 
you are right, then by all means never turn. If you are not 
right then turn, the sooner the better. 



248 THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 

But since a good illustration is at hand, it must not be 
thrown aside till well used. Suppose, then, that partition 
running through the center of the pews in front of the 
stand is the Gospel line, and that man sitting a little to one 
side of it is occupying the position of his church. As the 
preacher is starting out to run the line, he sees that he is to 
be left slightly on the wrong side, and rises and appeals to the 
preacher as follows : " Hold on, if you please, a little. I do 
love a charitable man. You see that my church is only a 
little to the wrong side ; now we have many good praying 
members and good paymg members, too ; do please be charita- 
ble and bend the line only a little, and take my church in." 
Say the preacher is one of your pliable and charitable men, 
w r ith an easy conscience, and he yields, saying, " There are 
good and bad in all churches; they are all right at heart," 
and bends the Gospel line so as to take them in. As soon 
as this is done, up spring three men, pleading for their three 
churches, only a little further from the line, telling how 
many good people they have, and that they are all good at 
heart, though they do not see precisely as other people. 
They, too, tell how they love a charitable preacher, and how 
good a man they think the preacher is. He has now T com- 
menced the work of bending the line, and will not make the 
matter any worse to bend it a little more. He, therefore, 
bends it and takes them in. Thus they continue to praise 
him for his charity, tell him how good a man he is, and per- 
suade him to bend it a little more and a little more, till, 
finally, he is a Universalist, runs the line clear round the 
human family, and takes them all in, leaving no church, or 
no world, or all church and all world. This is the result of 
what these charitable folks will do when they carry out 
their principles, or rather, their want of principles, to their 
legitimate result. They would nullify the entire Gospel and 
make nothing' of it. 



THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 249 

Now, turn your eye back to Peter, as he stands up with 
the eleven, under the infallible power of the Spirit of God 
to guide him into all truth, on the brightest' day the Lord 
ever created, the great Pentecost. He has a new commis- 
sion, under which he had never preached. The Lord has 
gone into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the 
throne of the majesty in the heavens, and is crowned Lord 
of all. He now stands at the beginning. He has the keys 
of the kingdom of God. He now has the death of Jesus, 
his burial, his resurrection, the shedding of his blood, the 
office and work of the Holy Spirit, the ascension and coro- 
nation of the king, for the first time to preach repentance 
and remission of sins in the name of Jesus. He has before 
him Jews and proselytes, devout men from every nation un- 
der heaven. He is in the right place, in Jerusalem, and at 
the right time, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on 
them " at the beginning." For the first time he opens out : 
" You men of Israel, hear these words : Jesus of Nazareth, a 
man approved of God among you by miracles, and wonders, 
and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as you 
yourselves also know ; him being delivered by the determi- 
nate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and 
by wicked hands have crucified and slain ; whom God hath 
raised up, having loosed the pains, death ; because it was 
not possible that he should be holden of it." He declared 
to them that David had said that God had sworn that " he 
would raise up Christ to sit on his throne," and that " this 
Jesus, God had raised up " and " exalted to his own right 
hand." This was all new, having never been understood 
or preached before by any of the apostles, or any body else ; 
and when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and 
cried out, "What shall we do?" Here stood the man who 
had the keys of the kingdom, ready to open the door, and, 
in one sentence he exercised the power, symbolized by the 



250 THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 

keys, opened the door, or, which is the same, the way to God, 
the terms of pardon, in the following words : " Repent and 
be immersed, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, 
in order to the remission of sins ; and you shall receive the 
gift of the Holy Spirit." 

Here one of the most singular things, in these times of 
apostasy and disloyalty to God, makes its appearance. Men 
talk about " called and sent preachers," but very few of 
them ever come to this grandest occasion since creation's 
dawn, where we have an account of " called and sent preach- 
ers/' of their preaching, what they preached, that the preach- 
ing cut the hearers to the heart, what they inquired, and what 
they were commanded to do. They rarely come to those 
grand occasions, where the Holy Spirit came to guide their 
" called and sent preachers " into all truth and follow the 
directions given by the apostles to those inquiring the way 
into the kingdom. Why do they come not here if they 
have any love for what was preached " by the Holy Spirit 
sent down from heaven?" Why do they come not here if 
they have what was preached by truly " called and sent 
preachers?" Why do they come not here if they delight in 
that which is truly the work of the Holy Spirit ? Why, if 
they would understand how things were at the start, not 
come up here to the " beginning " ? The reason is at hand ; 
they do not receive the terms of pardon as laid down by 
Peter. They do not accept the use of the keys of the king- 
dom, as set forth in his words, opening the kingdom, or giv- 
ing the terms of pardon. They have " another Gospel, 
which is not another," but a perversion of the Gospel of 
Christ. In turning away from the terms of pardon, set 
forth by the Holy Spirit through Peter, they have no terms. 
They have no plan of salvation, no definite terms, with 
which any person can comply, and have the promise of re- 
mission of sins. They can exhort the sinner to seek, to be- 



THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 251 

lieve, to give up his whole heart, to keep back nothing, but 
never come to the promise of God that he " shall be saved." 
They have closed their eyes to the light of the Gospel, and 
are literally in the dark, on the way of salvation. 

Some man resjwnds, "But I do not believe in baptism 
for the remission of sins." Who has preached any " bap- 
tism for the remission of sins?" "You have done it, not 
five minutes since," he replies. Are you sure of that ? "I 
am; I can not be mistaken," he replies. Well, you are not 
mistaken. You heard it, but it was when the precise words 
of Peter were quoted, " Repent and be immersed, every one 
of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of 
sins," or, as before quoted, " in order to the remission of sins." 
Do you say you can not receive any such teaching? If you 
do, it is to be regretted; but it can not be helped if you 
should refuse to receive one-half that is in the Bible. It 
is the precise language of Scripture, and if you refuse 
to receive it, you refuse to receive the precise language of 
Scripture. " I do not mean that," says a man, " but I do 
not receive your interpretation of it." There has been no 
interpretation of it given, nor any thing but the precise words 
of Scripture, and if you reject any thing it must be the lan- 
guage of Scripture. It is the language of Scripture that is 
here adopted, and not any man's interpretation. 

" I want the evidence of pardon," says a man. That is 
all right. You ought to have the evidence of pardon. But 
where is the evidence of pardon? Is it an old revelation 
or a new one, in the Bible or not in the Bible, through 
Christ or immediately from God? You say "In the 
Bible." Eight; it is in the Bible. Here it is: "He who 
believes and is immersed, shall be saved." Mark xvi: 16. 
Here is the evidence of pardon in the promise of Jesus, 
"Shall be saved." "Is that all the evidence of par- 
don ? " says one. Is not that enough ? " That is the 



252 THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 

mere word/' continues the objector. What do you mean in 
calling the Lord's word "the mere word?" Do you mean 
that it is not sufficient; that you can not rely on it? "The 
thief on the cross was saved without baptism," continues 
the objector. How do you know that the thief was saved 
at all ? "I did not know that any body denied that." Xo 
matter whether any body denies it or not, how do you know 
that he was saved? Jesus said to him, " To-day shalt thou 
be with me in paradise." True, Jesus said that, but that 
is " the mere word ! " " Is not that sufficient ? " Certainly 
it is; and if you have got so far that you can believe the 
word, turn back to the commission : " He who believes and 
is immersed, shall be saved." The words of Jesus are as 
true in one case as they are in the other. They are beyond 
all doubt true in both cases. Believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ, repent and be immersed, and you have the promise 
that you shall be saved. Think of the power of the three 
words "shall be saved." If you can not depend on these 
words, it is not immersion you need, but faith. Immersion 
is of no value to any man who has no faith in the word of 
God, or not faith enough in it to rely on it for pardon, and 
even for the hope of heaven. 

If the Lord were to take you from your seat to heaven, 
and set you down before the throne, and you should exclaim, 
as one of old, " Lord Jesus, I am a poor sinful man ;" and 
the Lord should then reply, "Thy sins, which are many, 
are all forgiven," and then return you to your seat, you would 
spring to your feet in an ecstasy, exclaiming, " I am par- 
doned." But where is the evidence? Only in the words 
" Thy sins are all forgiven." You may trifle with them as you 
please, call them "mere words" or any thing else; but they 
contain the evidence of your pardon. Strike them out aud 
you have no evidence of pardon. 



THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 253 

" I intend to turn to God before I die ; but there is time 
enough yet," says one. How do you know how much time 
there is yet? You are like the man in a yawl, two miles 
above the falls of Niagara, with two good oars, with his 
hands folded, floating directly on toward the great cataract. 
A man on shore calls to him: "My dear friend, there is 
danger ahead, lay hold of your oars and come to the shore, 
or you will go over the falls and precipitate one hundred 
and fifty feet down." He looks up with an air of indiffer- 
ence, and says, "I know there is danger ahead, but I am 
coming to the shore before I get to it." On he moves one 
mile, when another friend calls to him and entreats him to 
come tp the shore. He still thinks there is time yet, and 
goes on another half mile. The last friend calls to him and 
entreats him to be aroused for his condition. He lifts his 
eyes, sees the vast spray rising, the rainbow in the mist, 
and hears the roar of the immense waters as they pour in 
majesty down ; sees the mighty rush of the waters and the 
white-caps on the rapids above the falls; is filled with alarm; 
seizes the oars and struggles, but in a few moments discov- 
ers that it is too late. He calls to a man on the tower, " O, 
for help!" The man exhorts him to struggle for his life. 
This he does, now nobly, but it is too late. He writhes 
and cries, "O, why was I so simple as to wait till it was 
too late?'' Over he precipitates, down he plunges into the 
fearful deep below, and is gone forever. 

Will you, men and women of the world, waste your man- 
hood and womanhood in sin and folly, and then entertain 
the thought of performing the work of a life-time in a death 
struggle, and being saved? If you do, depend on it, you 
may lament your folly where lamentation will avail noth- 
ing, where there is no repentance, but where the worm dies 
not and the fire is not quenched. "Turn, O turn, why 



254 THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTION. 

will you die?" While there is mercy, grace, and compas- 
sion, turn and live forever. " Whoever will," says the 
Lord, "let him come." "Come to me, all you who labor 
and are heavy laden; and you shall find rest." Come, O, 
come, and have the peace of God which passes all under- 
standing. 



SERMON, No. XI. 

THEME-PREDESTINATION AND THE FOREKNOWLEDGE OE GOD. 

Text— " According as he has chosen us in him, before the foundation of 
the world, that we should he holy and without blame before him in 
love ; having predestinated us to the adoption of children by Jesus* 
Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the 
praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has made us accepted in 
the Beloved."— Eph. i: 4-6. 

The design of this discourse is to call attention to the 
teaching of the Bible on election, predestination, foreordi- 
natioD, and the foreknowledge of God. It is delightful to 
stand free from all creeds, theories, and embarrassing opin- 
ions of men, where one can look into the oracles of God 
simply with a view to understand them. In the present 
instance, there is nothing in the way to hinder the fullest 
and fairest investigation in determining what the Bible 
means by the important terms to be examined. 

The terms predestination, foreordination, foreknowledge 
of God, election, determinate counsel, mystery, secret, and 
counsel of his will, are all Bible terms. A man of intelli- 
gence, in these matters, can not say he does not believe the 
doctrine of election, etc. Election is in the Bible; so is 
predestination. The same is true of foreordination, fore- 
knowledge, etc. Whatever the Bible teaches by these 
terms is as true as what it teaches in any other terms, or 
on any other subject. But any man may say, in all good 

(255) 



256 PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 

conscience, if he understands the subject, that he does not 
believe the following from the Presbyterian Confession of 
Faith : 

" By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, 
some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life, 
and others foreordained to everlasting death. These angels 
and men, thus predestinated and foreordained, are particu- 
larly and unchangeably designed, and their number is so 
certain and definite that it can not be either increased or 
diminished. Those of mankind that are thus predestinated 
unto life, God, before the foundation of the Avorld was laid, 
according to his eternal and immutable purpose, and the 
secret counsel and good pleasure of his will, hath chosen in 
Christ, unto everlasting glory, out of his mere free grace 
and love, without any foresight of faith and good works, 
or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the 
creature as conditions or causes moving him thereunto ; and 
all to the praise of his glorious grace." Con. of Faith, p. 18. 

This, an intelligent man may say, he does not believe, 
or does not understand; but this is one thing, and the 
teaching of the Scriptures referred to, another and a very 
different tiling. There is something in the Bible called 
"the foreknowledge of God." The question to solve is 
simply what is it? or what does it mean? This is the 
matter first to be settled. 

"'Foreknowledge" is to know before. But the word 
"know" is used in two senses in Scripture, as it is in our 
own time. When we say we know certain things, we mean 
that we are cognizant of them, or are informed of them. We 
speak of certain things which we know, or concerning which 
we have information, in contradistinction from certain things 
of which we are not informed. In this sense there us noth- 
ing which the Infinite One does not know; in this sense he 
knows every thing. The apostles said of the Savior that 



PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 257 

he knew all things. The Almighty Father saw the end from 
the beginning. Nothing is hid from the omniscient one. In 
this sense there is neither foreknowledge nor after-knowledge 
with God. The word know is not used in this sense where 
we find the word foreknow or foreknowledge. "When we 
read "known to God are all his works/' the import is not 
simply that he is acquainted with all his works, or cognizant 
of them, for, in that sense, he knows every thing. The sense 
is, "approved of God are all his works." Another passage 
of the same kind is, " The Lord knows them that are his." 
If the word "know" were here used in the common accep- 
tation, you might respond that the Lord knows them that 
are not his also. There are none whom he does not know 
in this sense. The Lord is not only cognizant of them that 
are his, or acquainted with them, but the Lord approves 
them that are his, as he does not approve them that are not 
his. The same is true of the words "Depart, you workers 
of iniquity; I never knew you." He surely did not mean 
I never was acquainted with you, but I never acknowledged 
or approved you as I have those that are mine. When the 
Lord speaks of knowing certain things, it is not in contra- 
distinction from things with which he is not acquainted, or 
of which he is not informed, but sometimes in contradistinc- 
tion from things which he has not made known, and some- 
times things which he has not approved. When God looked 
down on the works of creation, he saw that they were good, 
or approved them, or rather made known his approval in 
pronouncing them "very good." 

It is, therefore, very clear that when the Scriptures speak 
of " the foreknowledge of God," they do not mean simply 
that with which he was before acquainted. This falls far 
short of the meaning. They mean more than this. Let refer- 
ence, then, be made directly to the law and to the testimony. 
"Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and fore- 
22 



258 PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 

knowledge of God, you have taken, and, by wicked hands, 
have crucified and slain." Acts ii: 23. In this passage 
there are two of the strongest expressions of this kind found 
in the Bible, viz., " the determinate counsel " and " the fore- 
knowledge of God." What is the import, or what did the 
apostle mean by these terms? The following passage, from 
the same apostle, ou the same subject, is a clear and com- 
plete explanation of the words just quoted : " But those things 
which God before had showed by the mouth of all his holy 
prophets, that Christ should suffer, he has so fulfilled. " 
Acts iii: 18. It will be readily seen that what is called 
"determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God," in the 
second chapter, is here called "those things which God be- 
fore has shown by the mouth of* all the holy prophets," in 
the third. This defines the foreknowledge of God to be that 
which he had before shown by the prophets, in contradistinc- 
tion from that which he had not before shown by the proph- 
ets. The following, from Paul, throws some additional 
light on the same point: "The Scripture, foreseeing that 
God would justify the heathen through faith, preached be- 
fore the Gospel to Abraham, saying, ' In thee shall all na- 
tions be blessed." " Gal. iii : 8. Now, it is self-evident that 
precisely the same that is meant by " foreknowledge," in the 
passage previously referred to, is meant by " foreseeing" in 
the one last quoted. What is meant, then, by " the Scrip- 
ture foreseeing?" Is it not God foreshowing in the Scrip- 
ture, or showing by the mouth of the prophet.-'/ Another 
Scripture, of the same nature, says: "He has concluded all 
under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be 
given to them that believe." Gal. iii: 22. This conclusion 
is foreknowledge of God, or God's conclusion before made 
known, through the prophets, that all are under, and that 
the promise to Abraham, by the faith of Jesus Christ, might 
be given to them that believe. 



PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 259 

The eternal purpose of God contained Christ, the Gospel, 
the plan of justification for the heathen through faith. The 
same was embodied in the promise made to Abraham, and 
confirmed by an oath. This was followed in after ages by 
many predictions, all, in one way or another, bearing on the 
great purpose of God to give this glorious system to man. 
In the Xew Testament frequent reference is made back to 
the purpose, the promise, the predictions of the prophets; 
and the knowledge thus communicated before is called the 
foreknowledge of God, in contradistinction to what was af- 
terward fully unfolded and developed to the world by the 
apostles. This foreknowledge, determinate counsel, mystery, 
or secret, had in it Christ, the Gospel, the Church, justifica- 
tion of the heathen through faith, making the Gentiles mem- 
bers of the same body and partakers of the promise in Christ 
by the Gospel. This was the grand secret, hid in God for 
ages, and not made known to the sons of men as it is now 
revealed to the apostles and prophets by the Spirit. It was 
concerning this the prophets "inquired and searched dili- 
gently, who prophesied of the grace that should come to us: 
searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ 
which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand 
the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 
To whom it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to us 
they did minister the things that are now reported to you 
by them that have preached the Gospel, with the Holy Spirit 
sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to 
look into." 1 Pet. i: 10, 12. It was this same great se- 
cret that was before the mind of the apostle to the Gentiles 
when he concluded his letter to the Church in Rome in the 
following words : " Now to him who is of power to estab- 
lish you according to my Gospel, and the preaching of Jesus 
Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which 
was kept secret since the world began, but now is made 



260 PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 

manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according 
to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known 
to all nations for the obedience of faith." Rom. xvi : 25, 26. 
The Gospel preached by Paul, the preaching of Jesus Christ, 
and the revelation of the mystery are the .same. It was a 
secret, but is now revealed ; it was hid, but is now brought 
out; it was in the purpose of God, the promise, in prophecy, 
or foreknowledge, but is now embodied in a complete reve- 
lation of the Gospel to the world. The eternal purpose of 
God was to publish the Gospel of Christ to the nations of 
the earth. The promise contained the same thing — the 
Gospel in promise. The prophecies contain the same, with 
much more said about it, and the Gospel now contains the 
same, fully developed and published to the world. 

The next thing in order will be to decide who the per- 
sons were, spoken of in the text, chosen in Christ before 
the foundation of the world. They were elect; GocVs elect. 
There is no use in caviling; the word "world," here, is 
not age. It is the material world. These persons were 
chosen in Christ before the founding of the material world, 
or before bringing order out of chaos. There are two ques- 
tions to decide concerning these persons : Who were they ? 
What were they chosen or elected for? They are not named 
in the whole passage, but simply referred to as " us," and 
" we." These pronouns occur a number of times between 
the third and thirteenth verses. Xo man understands the 
reading who does not know who is meant by these words. 
The matter in hand, then, is to find out who is meant by 
these two little words "us" and "we." Four different 
theories have been advocated, as now recollected. These 
must each, in return, receive attention. 

1. Some Universalists have maintained that the words 
"us" and "we," here, mean all mankind, and that all man- 
kind were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the 



PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 261 

world. But this can not be, for certain things are said of 
them that can not be said of all mankind. It will not do 
to say that he " has made all mankind accepted in the Be- 
loved." Universalists do not believe this themselves. They 
only claim that he ivill do this and not that he has done it, 
much less that he has "predestinated all mankind to the adop- 
tion of children by Jesus Christ to himself," or that "all 
mankind have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness 
of sins." It is not true that he had " abounded toward all 
mankind in all wisdom and prudence," nor that he had 
" made known to all mankind the mystery of his will." It 
is not true of all mankind that they had, in Paul's time, 
"obtained an inheritance," nor that all mankind "should be 
to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ." If 
all mankind first trusted in Christ, who trusted in Christ 
last, or afterward ? At the thirteenth verse, the apostle 
says, " In whom you also trusted, after that you heard the 
word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation ; in whom also, 
after that you believed, you w r ere sealed with that Holy 
Spirit of promise." How could the apostle say that all 
mankind had " first trusted in Christ," and, in the next 
breath, addressing the disciples in Ephesus, say, "In whom 
you also trusted ?" "Also trusted," as well as whom? The 
saints in Ephesus also trusted in Christ, as well as all man- 
kind. According to this, the saints in Ephesus were no part 
of "all mankind," but all mankind first trusted in Christ 
and then the saints in Ephesus also trusted in Christ. This 
is simply absurd. 

2. Some have supposed that the words "us" and "we" 
mean the Jews. But this is equally absurd. It will not 
do to say that "he has chosen the Jews in him before the 
foundation of the world, that the Jews should be holy and 
without blame before him in love;" nor that "he has pre- 
destinated the Jews to the adoption of children by Jesus 



262 PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 

Christ to himself;" nor that he " has made the Jews accepted 
in the beloved;" nor that "the Jews have redemption 
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins ; " nor yet that " he 
has made known to the Jews the mystery of his will ;" nor 
had the Jews " obtained an inheritance " at the time Paul 
wrote this letter. Yet these things were true of the per- 
sons of whom the apostle was speaking. 

3. The Calvinists think the words "us" and "we," 
from the fourth to the thirteenth verse, mean all the saints — 
their elect. Can what Paul says here be said of all the 
saints ? Certainly not. Were all the saints " blessed with 
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ " when 
Paul wrote this? Certainly not, for millions of them were 
not yet born. Nor were all the saints " predestinated to the 
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself," nor had 
all the saints received "forgiveness of sins" at the time of 
this writing, nor were they "accepted in the beloved." It 
is not true that he "abounded to all the saints in all wis- 
dom and prudence" at the time of this writing, nor that he 
"had made known to them the mystery of his will," nor 
that they had " obtained an inheritance," but all these state- 
ments were true of the persons of whom Paul was speaking. 
It is not true that all the saints " first trusted in Christ," but 
these persons " first trusted in Christ," and the apostle adds, 
verse thirteenth, " In whom you also trusted after you heard 
the word of truth." In whom you also trusted as well as 
whom? If he meant all the saints before, he means now 
that the saints at Ephesus also trusted in Christ, as well as 
all the saints. This makes nonsense of it. 

4. Who, then, does the apostle mean by the words "us" 
and "we," from the fourth to the thirteenth verse? We 
have seen that the language can not apply to the Jews, to 
all mankind, or all the saints. To whom, then, can all this 
language be applied ? It can be applied to the apostles and 



PKEDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 263 

prophets of the New Testament, and nobody else. The 
apostles and prophets were "blessed with all spiritual bless- 
ings in heavenly places in Christ." They were "chosen in 
him before the foundation of the world, that they should be 
holy and without blame before him in love." He had " pre- 
destinated them to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ 
to himself/' and he had, when Paul wrote, " made them ac- 
cepted in the beloved." They had, when Paul wrote, "re- 
demption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins," and 
he had "abounded toward them in all wisdom and pru- 
dence." He had, when Paul wrote, " made known to them 
the mystery of his will," and they " had obtained an inher- 
itance." They did "first trust in Christ;" and when the 
Ephesians heard the word of truth, the Gospel of their sal- 
vation, they " also trusted " in him, as well as the apostles 
and prophets. The apostles and prophets were chosen in 
him before the foundation of the world, and are the "us" 
and "we" of whom the apostle speaks, from verse three to 
verse thirteen — the elect of this passage. 

As further evidence of the correctness of this, refer to the 
ninth verse. Here the apostle says, " Having made known 
to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, 
which he had purposed in himself." The word " us " here 
means the same persons of whom he had been speaking all 
along, and says, " Having made known to us the mystery." 
The mystery was made known to the same persons " chosen 
in Christ before the foundation of the world." Who, then, 
were these persons to whom he made known the mystery? 
Turn to Ephesians iii : 3-5, where he says, " By revelation 
he made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in few 
words, whereby, when you read, you may understand my 
knowledge in the mystery of Christ; which in other ages 
was not made known to the sons of men, as it is now re- 
vealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit." The 



264 PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 

"us," then, of chapter 1, verse 9, are the "apostles and 
prophets," chap, iii : verses 3-5. These apostles and proph- 
ets, then, to whom he made known the mystery, are the 
elect — the persons chosen in him before the foundation of 
the world. 

Having now ascertained who these elect persons were 
of whom the apostle had been speaking, the next thing 
in order will be to ascertain what they were elected, or 
chosen in him, for. Were they elected for their own hap- 
piness and glory or for the benefit of others? Were they 
elected simply to eternal life themselves, or as instruments 
through whom others were to be benefited? The ground 
here maintained is, that their election had no more in it for 
them, in the world to come, than for any other persons of 
their time or any future time. They were not elected simply 
for their own sakcs, but for the benefit of the icorld. What, 
then, were they chosen or elected for? Paul answers : " For 
this cause, I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gen- 
tiles, if you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of 
God which was given to me toward you." What was this 
dispensation given to Paul? It was the dispensation be- 
longing to this election. He proceeds : " How that by rev- 
elation he made known to me the mystery, as I wrote above 
(chapter i : 9), in few words, whereby, when you read, you 
may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, 
which in other ages was not made known to the sons of 
men, as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets 
by the Spirit, that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and 
of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ 
by the Gospel." What was all this for ? He proceeds : 
" Whereof," or, for this purpose, "I was made a minister," 
or one of the elect, " chosen in him before the foundation 
of the world." " To me," says he, " who am less than the 
least of all saints, is this grace given." What grace? The 



PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 265 

grace of election, of being chosen in Christ, to the apostolic 
office. What was this given for ? He proceeds : " That I 
should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches 
of Christ ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship 
of the mystery, which from the beginning of time has been 
hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ." He 
still proceeds further, unfolding the purpose of this election 
to the apostolic office : " To the intent," or for the purpose, 
" that now to the principalities and powers in heavenly 
places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom 
of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed 
in Jesus Christ our Lord." This passage most clearly and 
explicitly sets forth the object of the election of which the 
aj>ostle had been speaking. The grace of election, of being 
chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, was to 
preach the Gospel ; to unite the Jews and Gentiles in one 
body, and to make all men see, or to make a revelation to 
the world. They were chosen in Christ, as the agents or 
instruments, through which God would reveal his will to 
man and found the new institution. This election had some- 
thing in it, not merely for the elect themselves, but for all 
mankind. They were " chosen in Christ," " predestinated," 
and the "grace given them," that they should be instru- 
mental in blessing the world with a full revelation of the 
mystery — the Gospel. 

" But," says a man, " I will go to the seventeenth chap- 
ter of John, and find the persons that were given to Christ ; 
they were the elect." That is so. But the same two things 
must be ascertained, as in the other case: 1. Who were the 
elect? 2. What were they elected for? Who, then, were 
the persons given to Christ, as set forth in John xvii: 2-20? 
Were they all mankind? Certainly not; for in verse sixth 
he says he gave them " out of the world." They were not 
all the world, but out of the world. Were they all the 
23 



266 PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 

saints? Manifestly not, for he says, verse 11 and 12: "Holy 
Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast 
given me, that they may be one as we are. While I was with 
them in the world, I kept them in thy name." They were 
not all the saints, for he "was with them in the world," and 
he was not with all the saints in the world. But he pro- 
ceeds : " Those whom thou gavest me I have kept, and none 
of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the Scripture 
might be fulfilled. " From this passage, it is learned that 
one of those given to him, or one of the elect, was lost. The 
Calvinistic idea of the elect is, that they can not be lost ; but 
here we have the clear concession that one of them was 
lost. This one was Judas. He was one whom Jesus had 
chosen, and one whom the Father gave him, and was lost. 
Why was he lost ? On what ground was he lost ? The fol- 
lowing passage informs us: "And they prayed and said, 
Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show which 
of these two thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this 
ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression 
Jell, that he may go to his own place." Acts i : 24. This 
settles the question, touching the ground on which he was 
lost; he Avas lost, or he fell by transgression. But now the 
question rises, What was he given to Christ for? Was it 
for his own happiness, for his eternal glory ? Certainly not. 
What, then ? For the ministry and apostleship ? " This min- 
istry and apostleship" from "which Judas by transgression 
fell" Matthias was elected to take " part of this ministry 
and apostleship." No doubt, from other considerations, he 
was finally lost, but that is not what is meant here. He 
was given to Christ; was one of the chosen to the ministry, 
the apostleship, and from this ministry and apostleship he 
fell and was lost. Paul was also one of the elect, was under 
the necessity of having an eye to his conduct, lest having 
"preached the Gospel to others, he himself should be a cast- 






PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 267 

away." 1 Cor. ix : 27. If, then, one of the elect, one of the 
chosen, one given to Christ, "by transgression fell and was 
lost" from that to which he was elected, and another one 
of the elect had to labor to keep his body in subjection, lest 
having "preached the Gospel to others, he himself should be 
a castaway," it would be well for others, even if they could 
prove that they are elected, not to rely too confidently on 
their election to save them. They, too, might fall by trans- 
gression and be lost. 

But to return to John xvii, please examine carefully and 
see if you can decide who were given to Christ. The Lord 
proceeds, verse 20: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for 
them also who shall believe on me through their word, that 
they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in 
thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may 
believe that thou hast sent me." This passage refers to 
three classes : 1. Those given to Christ, to whom he here 
does not confine his prayer, and through whose word others 
are to believe. 2. Those who should believe through their 
word. 3. The world, whom he desired to be convinced, by 
the union of the believers. The first class are the elect, the 
chosen, or the apostles, who were to preach the Word. The 
second class, the saints, or those made believers by hearing 
the words of the apostles. The third class, the unbelieving 
world, whom he desired to be influenced to believe by the 
union of the saints, or the believers. 

The position is not here taken, and will not be anywhere in 
this discourse, that no elect is mentioned in Scripture but the 
apostles and prophets of the New Testament. The position 
here taken is, that the apostles and prophets of the New Tes- 
tament are the elect of Eph. i: 4-12 and John xvii: 2-20. 
Having now determined, beyond dispute, that the apostles 
and prophets are the persons here spoken of as given to 
Christ, chosen in him before the foundation of the world — the 



268 PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 

elect ; and that this choice of God, or election, is to the pro- 
phetic and apostolic office, not for their own benefit or happi- 
ness, but as the instruments through whom God would reveal 
his will, make known the unsearchable riches of Christ, make 
all men see the wisdom and goodness oi* God are exhibited in 
this election, and none of that crude theory called Calvinism, 
or Augustinism, is found in it, or having any footing. It was 
a wise and benevolent purpose of God to elect those persons, 
or choose them in Christ for this great and good object, and 
all men have reason for thankfulness and gratitude to God 
for this election, but not for the Calvinistic theory of election. 
In view of all this, the apostle exclaims : " O, the depth of 
the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! how 
unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding 
out ! For who has known the mind of the Lord '? or who 
has been his counselor? or who has first given to him, and 
it shall be recompensed to him .again? For of him, and 
through him, and to him, are all things : to whom be glory 
forever." Romans xi : 33-36. 

But other important passages must be considered. Some 
man exclaims, " Does not the Scripture say, ' Jacob have I 
loved, and Esau have I hated V and was not this written be- 
fore these two sons were born, and consequently before they 
had done any good or evil?" The words "Jacob have I 
loved, and Esau have I hated," are Scripture, but they were 
not written before Jacob and Esau were born. This passage 
is found in Rom. ix : 13, as quoted by Paul from Matt, i : 
2, 3, and was written only three hundred and ninety years 
before Christ. The language " Jacob have I loved, and Esau 
have I hated," as we have it in the old English style, does 
not express the meaning of the original well. The full force 
of the original, as may be shown by any amount of authority, 
is, " Jacob have I respected, and Esau have I slighted: 7 In 
what, then, did the Lord respect Jacob and slight Esau? 



PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 269 

Did he elect Jacob to eternal glory and reprobate Esau to 
eternal damnation ? Certainly not. There is not a word of 
this kind in the language of the prophet, nor in the comment 
of Paul on it. It will be seen by reference to the genealogy, 
as recorded by Luke, that the Lord's genealogy is traced 
from Joseph up, through Jacob, to Abraham, or, indeed, to 
Adam; and, by reference to Matt, i, that the genealogy is 
traced down from Abraham, through Jacob, to Christ. Esau 
being the first-born, or the elder son, it was his right by 
birth, or he had the birthright to be enrolled in the lineage, 
which was the lineage of Christ. But the Lord slighted 
him in striking his name out of this lineage, and respected 
Jacob in enrolling his name in the sacred line, in which the 
blood of Jesus was to flow. But this was not done by an 
immutable and an arbitrary decree. Esau was free, and acted 
as freely and voluntarily as any man ever acted in bartering 
away and selling his birthright to Jacob. This is clear from 
Heb. xii : 18, where Paul says, " Lest thereby any fornica- 
tor or profane person, as Esau, who, for one morsel of meat, 
sold his birthright" The birthright, to be enrolled in the 
genealogy, was his ; but he sold it, lost it, and could not get 
it again, not on account of any previous immutable decree, 
but by his own free and voluntary act. It was not eternal 
life he had lost, nor was the birthright lost by an uncondi- 
tional, immutable, and an eternal decree, but by his own 
voluntary act. The very first sight of this case, as set forth 
in Scripture, demolishes a principal item in Calvin istic elec- 
tion. Their idea is, once in election, or, which is the same, 
in grace, always in grace. Esau was born elect, or with a 
birthright, and Jacob was born non-elect, or without a birth- 
right ; and Esau, born elect, lost the election, and Jacob, born 
non-elect, gained the election, retained it, and his name 
stands enrolled, and will so stand, among the elect in the 
genealogy of our Lord till the last trumpet shall sound. 



270 PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 

But it was said to the mother of these children, before 
they were born, " the elder shall serve the younger." Rom. 
ix: 12, and Gen. xxv : 23. This did not mean that the el- 
der shall be eternally lost, nor that the younger shall be eter- 
nally saved, nor did this find its fulfillment in the persons, or 
in the life-time of these two children, nor for hundreds of 
years after their day. As an evidence of this, you will no- 
tice, that after Jacob had served his twice seven years for 
Rachel, and become quite wealthy, and when he was on his 
return to his own country, he learned that he was about to 
meet Esau, at which he was alarmed, and sent presents to 
appease Esau's wrath, for fear he might suffer from him. 
He feared that Esau might remember the little transaction 
about the birthright when they were boys. This circum- 
stance shows that Esau was no servant of Jacob at the time 
they here met, but w r as the more powerful man, and that 
Jacob feared him. But, by attention to the language, it will 
be seen that the language does not say, nor imply, that the 
servitude was to be in Esau's own person. The Lord said, 
" Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people 
shall be separated from thee; and the elder shall be stronger 
than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger." 
Gen. xxv: 23. This was a prediction to ancient Rebecca 
touching two nations and two manner of people that were to 
descend from her, or from her twins, not yet born — Jacob 
and Esau — the descendants of the latter designated "the el- 
der," and the descendants of the younger designated " the 
younger," in the brief and very elliptical prediction. 

These two nations were, in course of time, respectively 
called Jacob and Esau, or Israel and Edom ; and when the 
Lord uttered the words, Matt, i: 2, 3, " Jacob have I 
loved, and Esau have I hated," he alluded to the two na- 
tions, called Jacob and Esau, or Israel and Edom, and not to 
the two men, Jacob and Esau, in their own persons. Israel 



PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 271 

he had respected, in making them the elect, through whom 
the Messiah was to come, and passing the sacred genealogy 
through them, and slighted Edom in not passing the sacred 
line through them, and they finally became servants of Israel. 
The transaction about selling and purchasing the birthright 
is not merely an amusing story, about two boys, to entertain 
children, but apparently an unimportant transaction between 
two boys that had a divine purpose in it, and turned the 
line of our Lord's genealogy from the course it was appar- 
ently about to take through the nation of Edom, and run- 
ning down through long and eventful centuries, in the na- 
tion of Israel, from whom our Lord came. This is the 
election here, and there is no other in this transaction. 

" But," says a man, " the Scripture says, ' Has not the 
potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one 
vessel to honor and another to dishonor?' Are we not clay 
in the hands of the potter? Is not the Lord the potter? 
Are we not merely passive in his hands ? "Will he not make 
us, then, as seems good in his sight? Paul, Rom. ix : 21, 
alludes to this figure, as found Jer. xviii : 1-10. The Lord 
is the potter. The people of whom he is speaking are the 
clay in his hands, and he has power to make them vessels 
of wrath or of honor, as seems good to the potter to make 
them. The prophet says : ( The word which came from the 
Lord to Jeremiah, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's 
house, and I will cause thee to hear my words. And I went 
down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work 
on the wheels. And the vessel he made of clay was marred 
in the hands of the potter ; so he made it again another ves- 
sel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the 
word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, 
can not I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Be- 
hold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my 
hand, O house of Israel.' " Jer. xviii : 1-4. It occurs some- 



272 PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 

times, when the potter is turning a vessel on the wheel, that 
it mars or breaks in his hand. When it does this, what is 
the cause of it ? Is it because he wills or decrees it ? Is it 
because he desired it to break in his hand ? Surely not. It 
is contrary to his will. Why, then, does it break in his 
hand ? Because the clay is not good. The failure is not in 
the will or decree of the potter, but in the bad clay, that can 
not be made into a good vessel. But the potter has the 
power, when the clay is bad and breaks in his hand, to make 
it over again, as seems good to the potter to make it, into 
another vessel, a coarser and rougher vessel, for some less 
honorable purpose. With this explanation, please hear the 
words of the prophet, and try to learn the reason why the 
Lord makes some vessels to honor and others to dishonor; 
for he has the power and will mahc some vessels to honor and 
some to dishonor. The Lord says, "At what instant I shall 
speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to 
pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it ; if that na- 
tion, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, 
I will repent of the evil I thought to do to them." Please, 
notice this language carefully. If what ? " If that nation, 
against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will 
repent of the evil I thought to do them." It turns on their 
behavior. The Lord has the power, and if they turn from 
their evil, he will turn away his wrath. But, now, hear the 
Lord state the other side: "At what instant I shall speak 
concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build 
and to plant it ; if it do evil in my sight, that obey not un- 
voice, them will I repent of the good wherewith I said I 
would benefit them." What is the ground here on which 
he will refuse to benefit them? "What is the contingency? 
If what? "If it do evil in my sight, that obey not my voice, 
then will I repent of the good wherewith I said I would 
benefit them." "What does the whole matter turn on? On 



PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 273 

the obedience or disobedience of a nation. If it disobeys the 
voice of God and does evil in his sight, he will make it a 
vessel to dishonor, or utterly overthrow it. If it shall do 
good, obey his voice, he will raise it up, and make it a vessel 
to honor. 

From all this, it is clear that it entirely depends on the 
clay, the house of Israel. Unless wicked nations turn from 
evil and obey the voice of God, they will be overthrown and 
made vessels to dishonor. The same is true of individuals 
as well as nations. This teaching is confirmed by Paul, 2 
Tim. ii: 21 : " If a man, therefore, shall purge himself from 
these, he shall be a vessel to honor, sanctified and fit for the 
Master's use, and prepared to every good work." This is as 
clear as language can be, showing that the whole matter of 
being a vessel to honor is conditional — that if a man shall 
'purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel to honor. Men 
are not wicked because God makes them vessels to dishonor ; 
but he makes them vessels to dishonor, because they are 
wicked, as a punishment. When God speaks to men, na- 
tions, and kingdoms, to pluck up and pull down, if they 
repent, obey his voice, turn from their evil, he will make 
them vessels to honor and fit for the Master's use. Let 
men, nations, and kingdoms, then, tremble before the majesty 
of heaven and earth. 

But the Scripture says, "He will have mercy on whom 
he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardens." Cer- 
tainly, the Scripture says so, and it is as unquestionably 
true as any thing ever uttered. The Lord will have mercy 
on some and harden others. This is divinely true. But 
there are several things not explained in this. 1. It is not 
explained whom God will have mercy on, and whom he will 
harden. 2. It is not explained why God will have mercy on 
some, nor why he will harden others. These are matters to 
be inquired into. On whom, then, will the Lord have 



274 PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 

mercy? Turn to Exodus xx: 5, 6: "Thou shalt not bow 
down thyself to them (images), nor serve them : for I the 
Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the 
fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations 
of them that hate me ; and showing mercy to thousands of 
them that love me and keep my commandments." On 
whom will he have mercy? On them that love him and 
keep his commandments. Why will he have mercy on them ? 
Because they love him and keep his commandments. On whom 
will he visit iniquity? On them that hate him. Why will 
he visit iniquity on them? Because they hate him. 

Turn to Xeh. i : 5, and hear the word of the Lord : " I 
beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible 
God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love 
him and observe his commandments." On whom will he 
have mercy? On them that love him and keep his command- 
ments. Why will he have mercy on them? Because they 
love him and keep his commandments. The whole matter 
turns on the character of men, and not on any immutable 
decree of God. Listen to the Savior, Matt, v : " Blessed 
are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." They who 
are merciful themselves shall obtain mercy. The holy apos- 
tle says, "For he shall have judgment without mercy, who 
has showed no mercy." Jas. ii : 13. The man who is 
himself merciful, shall have mercy, and the man who has 
showed no mercy, or is unmerciful, shall have no mercy. 
The Lord will not have mercy on him. The Lord will 
have mercy on whom he will have mercy. This is decreed. 
"When he tells whom he will have mercy on, it is on those 
that love him and keep hi* commandments; and when he ex- 
plains whom he hardens, or makes vessels to dishonor, it is 
clearly seen that they are those who hate him and disobey his 
voice. 

It should also be distinctly understood, that there are two 



PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 275 

senses in which God is said to do things : 1. When he does 
things directly, without any contingency. 2. AVhere he per- 
mits them to be done. In this latter sense he hardens men. 
In that sense he hardened Pharaoh. Hence you read in the 
Bible of Pharaoh hardening himself and of God hardening 
him. God only did by permitting it. Pharaoh did directly, 
by his own acts. 

Listen to the word of the Lord once more : " The right- 
eousness of the righteous shall be on him, and the wick- 
edness of the wicked shall be on him. But if the wicked 
will turn away from all his sins that he has committed, 
and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful 
and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. All his 
transgressions that he has committed, they shall not be 
mentioned to him; in his righteousness that he has done he 
shall live. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked 
should die? saith the Lord God; and not that he should 
turn from his ways and live ? But when the righteous turns 
away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and does 
according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, 
shall he live? All his righteousness that he has done shall 
not be mentioned; in his trespass that he has trespassed, and 
in his sins that he has sinned, in them shall he die." Ezek. 
xviii: 20-24. If any thing can be clearly stated, this pas- 
sage states the case clearly, showing whom God will have 
mercy on, and who shall surely die. The man who turns from 
his sins shall surely live; he shall not die; but the man who 
turns away from his righteousness shall not live; he shall surely 
die. Such is the immutable decree of God touching those on 
whom he will have mercy, and those whom he will harden. 

Does any one desire a fuller explanation touching the 
question whom the Lord will harden? Listen to the fol- 
lowing: "Even him, whose coming is after the working of 
Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and 



276 PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 

with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that per- 
ish; because, they received not the love of the truth, that they 
might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them 
strong delusion, that they should believe the lie: that they 
all might be condemned icho believed not the truth, but had 
pleasure in unrighteousness." 2 Thess. ii : 9-12. The 
decree of God, then, is that he will have mercy on them 
who love him and keep his commandments, and harden 
those who hate him and receive not the love of the truth. 
Men are not, then, vile and sinful because God hardens 
them; nor do they refuse to receive the love of the truth 
because he hardens them, but he hardens them because they 
receive not the love of the truth — because they are vile and 
sinful. On the other hand, men are not good because God 
has mercy on them, but he has mercy on them because they 
love him, obey his voice, do those things that are pleasing 
in his sight. 

" But I do not believe that men can fall from grace," 
says one. That may be. Men do not believe things that 
are true, in some instances. "What say the Scriptures? 
" For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, 
and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made par- 
takers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted of the good word 
of God, and the powers of the world to come, if. they shall 
fall aicay, to renew them again to repentance; seeing they 
crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him 
to open shame." Heb. vi: 4-6. Certainly none but 
Christains, saints, those in Christ, in grace, have tasted the 
heavenly gift, partaken of the Holy Spirit, tasted the good 
word of God or the powers of the world to come. Yet 
Paul speaks of such, and of their falling away, as well as 
the impossibility of renewing them again to repentance. 

Hear the apostle again: "For if we sin willfully after we 
have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no 



PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 277 

more sacrifice for sin." Heb. x: 26. Surely none but 
saints ever received the knowledge of the truth, and if such 
sin willfully, there remains no more sacrifice for sin. This 
shows that saints may sin, and that, too, so greatly as to 
lose their interest in the only sin-offering — the Lord from 
heaven. 

The theory that men can not fall from grace is clearly 
contradicted and refuted by the closing words of the Book 
of God : " If any man shall take away from the words of 
the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part 
out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from 
the things that are written in this book." Rev. xxii : 19. 
Certainly none but saints ever had a part in the book of 
life, and in the holy city, and most indisputably, if a man 
has his part taken out of the book of life, and out of the 
holy city, he is fallen and undone forever. But hear the 
apostle once more : " For I testify again to every man that is 
circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ 
is become of none effect to you, whoever of you are justi- 
fied by the law ; you aee fallen from grace." Gal. 
v : 3-4. Here is an end to the controversy — a final settle- 
ment of the question. 

Do you desire, then, the Lord to have mercy on you; 
that he may not harden you; send you strong delusions, 
and make you vessels of dishonor? Then remember his 
word, that he will have mercy on them that love him and 
keep his commandments; on them that are merciful, and that 
he will send strong delusion on those who receive not the love 
of the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness. As you 
desire that he may not make an example of you, as he did 
of Pharaoh of old, harden not your hearts against him, but 
receive the love of the truth, obey his voice, and he will 
have mercy on you. You may run and will, as Esau did, 
after he sold his birthright; but you must remember that 



278 PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 

it is God who shows mercy, and he has clearly defined that 
he will have mercy on the merciful — on them who love him 
and keep his commandments, and not on them who hare 
him and obey not his voice. You may will and run, i 
and contend that God will save you ; nay, more, that he 
will save all; but if you do not love God, and keep his 
commandments, he will not have mercy on you. 

God has made you free, and says: "To whom you yield 
yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom 
you obey; whether of sin to death, or of obedience to 
righteousness." Bom. vi : 1G. " If I had not come and 
spoken to them, they had not had sin; but now they have 
no cloak for their sin." Again says the Lord : " If I had 
not done among them the works which none other man 
did, they had not had sin; but now have they both seen 
and hated me and my father." John xv: 22-24. The 
Lord does not say, " You could not come to me," but 
"you would not come to me that you might have life." 
The light has come into the world, and men choose dark- 
ness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. 

" But," says a man, " does not Jesus say, ' No man can 
come to me, except the father who has sent me draw him?'" 
Yes, sir, he so says, and proceeds at once to tell how the 
father draws them. The next verse says: "It is written 
in the prophets, they shall be all taught of God. Every 
man, therefore, that has heard, and learned of the father, 
comes to me." John iv : 44, 40. The father taught them 
by the prophets ; they heard and learned this teaching of 
the father by the prophets, and were thus drawn to the 
Savior. 

"But, I do not believe any man can come till the Lord 
gives him power," says a :n;in. To whom docs the Lord 
give power? "As many as received him, to them gave he 
power to become the sons of God, even to them that be- 






PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 279 

lieve on his name." John i: 12. To whom gave he power? 
"To as many as received him" — "to them that believe on 
his name." He did not give to them the power to enable 
them to believe, or to receive him, but he gave those who 
received him and believed on his name 'power to become the 
sons of God. 

The Lord cried over the devoted city : " O Jerusalem ! 
Jerusalem! thou that killest the prophets and stonest those 
who have been sent to thee; how often would I have gath- 
ered thy children as a hen gathers her brood, but you would 
not." Here is the true reason why men are not gathered 
to the Lord : they will not be gathered. 



SERMON, No. XII. 

THEME -THE NECESSITY OP REGENERATION. 
Text—" Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."— Matt, v : 8. 

The words selected and read, are not designed as a text, 
in the popular sense, but merely as a starting-point, in dis- 
cussing a great theme — the necessity of regeneration, or, which 
is the same, simply the necessity of turning to God. No at- 
tempt will be made, in this discourse, to discuss regenera- 
tion or conversion minutely, but the importance of it will 
be argued and maintained ; or, rather, the indispensable neces- 
sity of it. 

The Sermon on the Mount, as it is generally styled, was 
delivered some three and a half years before the full devel- 
opment of the Gospel and kingdom, and no one need expect 
to find, in that discourse, the details of the new institution ; 
or the law of induction, the plan of founding churches, the 
officering, management, and discipline of the congregations, 
as these matters were unfolded and developed afterward. It 
contained, as might have been justly expected, the general 
principles of the new and better covenant on better promises. 
In this opening speech, one of the great principles unfolded 
is, that reference is now to be made to the state of the heart : 
" Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Some 
of the translations, no doubt correctly, too, instead of this word 
"blessed," give us the word happy. "Happy are the pure 
24 (281) 



282 THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

in heart." The word "see/' here, does not mean to see with 
the eye, for in that sense "every eye shall see him." It is 
here used in the sense of enjoy. " Happy are the pure in 
heart, for they shall enjoy God." Here, then, in the Lord's 
great opening discourse, soon after he had entered his divine 
mission, he makes a grand discrimination between purity 
and impurity, the pure and the impure in heart. \Vhen he 
says " Happy are the pure in heart," he implies, with all 
the force of language, that the impure in heart are not 
happy. The principle is, that purity of heart and happi- 
ness go hand in hand. Impurity of heart and unhappiness 
also are joined hand in hand. Men may flatter themselves 
that they will escape, that they can cherish impurity of heart 
and still be happy, but they will find themselves mistaken. 
The immutable decree of God has settled it, that impurity 
and misery shall be joined hand in hand ; that purity and 
happiness shall be joined hand in hand. Men may try to 
evade as they please, but still, there stands the law, facing 
them and thundering in their ears, " Happy are the pure 
in heart." Xo man can be happy with an impure heart. A 
man must be made pure in heart before he can be happy. 

Thus far it all relates to the present, without looking into 
the future, and some Universalis!; may say, that the passage 
sustains his doctrine, that rewards and punishments are all 
in this life, that the Lord simply says, "Happy are the pure 
in heart," and not that they shall receive this happinee 
the future. Such an idea might be possible, if there Mere 
nothing different anywhere else, and if the Lord had not 
added the clause " for they shall see God." This makes a 
discrimination between the pure and impure in heart, in 
reference to the future. All who have noticed Universal- 
ists, in their writings and preaching, have observed what a 
world of trouble they have with such words and phrases as 
the following : misery, torment, punishment, hell, the lake 



THE NECESSITY OP REGENERATION. 283 

of fire, second death, the devil, Satan, etc. Still, if not one 
of these words or promises could be found iu the Bible, and 
we were to read in the first sermon of our Lord, " Happy are 
the pure in heart, for they shall enjoy God," there would be 
no hope remaining that the impure in heart would ever enjoy 
God. It throws an everlasting gloom over the prospects of 
the impure in heart in reference to the boundless future. 

Seeing, then, that both present and future happiness stands 
connected with purity of heart, as our Lord taught in his 
first sermon, it becomes a matter of great importance to de- 
termine what he meant by " pure in heart." There is a 
great tendency in these times, to mix up things and make it 
appear that all men are pretty much alike; that they all 
have some good in them, and some bad ; that there is not 
much difference after all. You will hear men saying every 
now and then, " I never knew a man so bad that he had not 
some good in him ; nor a man so good that he had not some 
bad in him." Still, these same men know that there is a 
vast difference between men. There is a vast difference be- 
tween an apple-tree that yields abundance of fruit and 
nearly all good, and a tree that yields but little fruit and 
nearly all bad. So there is a vast difference between a man 
whose conduct is nearly all good, and a man whose conduct 
is nearly all bad. Some men's lives are nearly all filled up 
with good deeds, while some others are so nearly filled up 
with bad deeds that it is only an occasional thing to find a 
good deed. This is. a wide difference. 

But this is not ascertaining what it is to be pure in heart. 
It is not, then, to be so perfect that one can not sin, be over- 
taken in a fault, or surprised into an evil. The " pure in 
heart" are those who ardently desire to do good, are aiming 
and striving to do good ; who hunger and thirst after right- 
eousness. They purpose good in their hearts, intend or 
design good. Their meditations are good, pure, and holy. 



284 THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

If they sin, they are surprised into sin, or overtaken in a 
fault. But the impure in heart, or, which is the same, the 
corrupt in heart, meditate sin, design it, purpose in their 
hearts frauds, blasphemy, corruptions in general. Their de- 
signs, desires, and aims are corrupt. How transcendently 
are those who are pure in heart, whose desires, aims, and 
intentions are all pure, above the low, the corrupt, and de- 
graded ! They have an abiding consciousness of the purest, 
holiest, and highest intentions. They are not faultless, per- 
fect, or immaculate, as Jesus, or as angels. They are not 
utterly sinless, and do not claim to be ; but they desire the 
perfection, purity, and holiness of Jesus, and are seeking 
after it. These are pure in heart note, and happy. They, 
also, have the promise that they shall in the future enjoy 
God. But if Universalists could annihilate hell and the 
devil, as they appear so determined sometimes to do, this 
passage would stand eternally in the way of the impure or 
corrupt in heart ever enjoying God. Xo reasoning in this 
universe can ever recover them from this. 

But that there may not appear to be too much suspended 
on a single isolated expression, another passage shall be 
summoned : " Follow peace with all men, and holiness, 
without which no man shall see the Lord." Heb. xii : 14. 
This is fuller than the language just commented on. It not 
only includes the purity of heart, but the practice flowing 
from it, without which it unequivocally declares, no man 
shall see the Lord. The word " see,", here, is used in the 
same sense as before; that is, "without holiness no man 
shall enjoy the Lord." If you could annihilate the devil, 
hell, the second death, lake of fire, the bottom less pit, 
misery, punishment, and torment, the case is not relieved. 
There stands the terrible declaration, "without which no 
man shall enjoy the Lord." Xo matter where the man or 
woman is, or who, iciihoiU holiness no person shall enjoy the 



THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 285 

Lord. No evasion, caviling, or sophistry can get over this. 
There it stands, and there it will stand till the eternal judg- 
ment, testifying that men must follow peace and holiness in 
this life, or they shall not enjoy the Lord in the future. 

Being made "pure in heart" amounts to the same as be- 
ing made holy, for it leads to following peace with all men 
and holiness, without which no man shall enjoy the Lord. 
No man is regenerated, born again, or converted, according 
to the New Testament, who is not made pure in heart, or 
holy in life. An argument in favor of being made pure in 
heart, or holy, is an argument in favor of regeneration, the 
new birth, or conversion, and the law requiring purity of 
heart, or holiness, is virtually a law requiring a man to be 
born again, regenerated, or converted. It is not claimed 
that these several terms mean precisely the same, but the 
man converted, created anew, or born again, is made pure in 
heart, holy, or he is regenerated. Though being made pure 
in heart is not the whole process of turning to the Lord, or 
regeneration, it leads to it and results in it. Hence the faith 
of Christ begins with the heart, corrects it, changes, or puri- 
fies it. This purification of the heart leads to a pure life, 
or corrects, or purifies the life, resulting in righteousness and 
true holiness. But no reasoning on a subject like this can 
be as satisfactory as an actual conversation between a man 
and the Savior of the world. Attention is, therefore, in- 
vited to an actual conversation between our Lord and a no 
less distinguished personage than Nicodemus, a ruler of the 
Jews, who came to the Savior by night to have a personal 
interview. It is not certain that there is any thing in the 
circumstances of his coming by night, but those a little accus- 
tomed to notice the movements of religious teachers, might 
think there was a little lack of bold manliness. The cause 
of his coming by night is not entirely clear, and might be 
assumed to be that he was not willing for it to be known 



286 THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

that he had the interview; or that he was under the influ- 
ence of a little policy, such as is often seen on the part of 
religious teachers and spiritual guides, inducing them to be 
cautious about setting an example that might open the way 
for weak brethren to hear something not orthodox. Many 
amusing things are observed on the part of spiritual guides 
of our own times, who really desire to hear, but fear the in- 
fluence of their example, and slip in late, take the first seat 
they can find. They sit, sometimes, as if they did not de- 
sire any one to see them there, and then show their contempt 
and low-breeding by going out while the closing hymn is 
being sung. Politeness is not to be expected, nor even com- 
mon civility from a man who has once become a blind devo- 
tee to party, and such a man will violate rules of polii 
in such rudeness as he would rebuke in an infidel. 

Nicodemus may have been under no such low and un- 
worthy feeling as just alluded to, but the probability is that 
some such influence caused him to go at night. Be this as 
it may, he put on the best address he could command, and 
.approached the Savior in the most respectful terms he 
could use. He said: "Rabbi, we know that thou art a 
teacher from God, for no man can do these miracles which 
thou doest except God be with him." He used the title 
rabbi in about the same sense as some do the titles "R 
" Rt. Rev.," " Dr.," etc., as prefixes or affixes to names, not 
having consequence enough to pass without some such ap- 
pendages. He evidently was aiming to please the Savior, 
and supposed he would be pleased, as the Jewish rabbis 
were, to be called rabbi. Hence he addressed him, "Rabbi, 
we know that thou art a teacher from God." This was 
making a broader concession than many of his fellow-rabbis 
would thank him for. He not only speaks for himself, 
but for others with himself: " We know that thou art a 
teacher from God." Nor does he speak in any doubtful 



THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 287 

terms, such as we think, we feel, we trust, or even we admit, 
but in the most unequivocal terms, " We know." Nor does 
he, like many of the present time, say " we know," without 
telling how he knew. He adds : " For no man can do 
these miracles which thou doest except God be with him." 
Certainly this was a good reason for saying, " We know 
that thou art a teacher from God." No one could perform 
the wonderful works which he did unless God was with 
him. 

The Lord looked on him in view of the admission he 
had made, and the very first sentence he uttered struck 
from under him his entire religious foundation, thus leav- 
ing him standing among his fellow-citizens of the world, 
but outside of the kingdom of God. Hear his words : 
" Verily, verily, I say to you, except a man be born again 
he can not see the kingdom of God." This was all new 
to Nicodemus. He understood nothing of the meaning 
of this language, and, in confusion, inquired how a man 
can be born when he is old, evidently seeing nothing be- 
yond a natural birth, or a birth of the flesh. He did not 
see that it was a deadly blow at his birthright member- 
ship in the Church, and a clear declaration that his old 
birthright gave him no membership in the new kingdom 
about to be introduced. The Lord then proceeded in lan- 
guage a little fuller: "Verily, verily, I say to you, except 
a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter 
into the kingdom of God." Nicodemus stands in wonder 
and amazement. The Lord replies, " Marvel not that I 
said to you, you must be born again." Why did the Savior 
address him in this style ? Why did he say, " Verily, 
verily, I say to you, except a man be born again, he can 
not see the kingdom of God ? " See how emphatic he is : 
" Verily, verily," is most assuredly. " Most assuredly, I 
say to you, except a man be born again, he can not see the 



288 TTIE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

kingdom of God." The word "see" here is used in the 
sense of enjoy — "except a man be born again, he can not 
enjoy the kingdom of God." 

Why does the Lord thus address the ruler in Israel? 
For a good and a wise reason. He knew that not only 
Nieodemns, but all Jews, would be ready to claim member- 
ship in his Church, or, which is the same, under a different 
form of speech, citizenship in his kingdom, on the ground 
of their fleshly birthright, or their fleshly relation to Abra- 
ham, and not on being born of the Spirit. At the time of 
this conversation, the thought had never entered into the 
mind of Xicodemus that the Messiah, when he came, would 
change the entire ground of membership, so as to set aside en- 
tirely all claims on the old ground, and require all members 
of the old church, on the old ground, the same as Pagans, to 
become members on the new ground, or not enter the king- 
dom at all. This the Lord declared to the rabbi in Israel, 
though he evidently did not understand it, nor any one else 
at that time. From his earliest recollection, his fleshly 
birthright, which gave him membership in the old church, 
was the ground of membership to which his attention had 
been directed. He had never in his life heard of such a 
thing as a spiritual qualification for membership in the 
Church, or a moral condition. As far as he had ever 
heard, flesh and not spirit, blood and not faith, the first birth 
and not the second, had been kept before him as the ground 
of membership. The descendants of Abraham, according 
to the flesh, or, as the Lord expressed it, "those born in 
thy house," and not those "born again," were in the cove- 
nant. This was the ground of membership, and the only 
ground with a Jew. 

This was a startling point to the Jew. It appeared to 
him like setting aside the law of God. It was, indeed, 
superseding one ground of membership with another, and a 



THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 289 

different one, or rather superseding one institution with an- 
other, and a different one. The matter now is not to be Abra- 
ham's children according to the flesh, but Abraham's chil- 
dren by faith ; not to be of fleshly Israel, but of spiritual 
Israel. They are not all of Israel, who are so according to the 
flesh. It is written, " In Isaac shall the seed be counted." 
It is of the spirit and not flesh, of faith and not of a blood 
relation. A Jew is nothing now, circumcision is nothing, 
nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. We have no con- 
fidence in the flesh now, or in a fleshly relation to Abraham. 
Away with your long rolls of genealogy, and your contro- 
versies about them. It matters not now whose children 
you are, or whose descendants; nor is it a matter of any 
consequence whose blood flows in your veins ; whether your 
fleshly descent is from Isaac or Ishmael, from Jacob or 
Esau ; whether you are of this nation or that. The question 
now is, have you been " born again," " born of the Spirit," 
" born of God," made " a new creature ? " The question is 
not whether you have the blood of Abraham in your veins, 
but whether you have the faith of Abraham. 

It is useless to set up the cry of unchristianizing good 
people. This has nothing to do with the argument. Is 
the ground taken true? Is is true that, in order to be in 
the kingdom of God, a man " must be born again " — " must 
be born of water and of the Spirit?" It is as certainly 
true as that the Bible is a divine book, or as that Jesus is 
divine. Men must be born again, not of corruptible, but 
of incorruptible seed, the word of God; not of the will of 
the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of the will of God. 
The saints are in Christ, not by flesh nor by blood, but 
by faith, by the spirit of God, by yielding themselves to 
the will of God to be servants of God. This is true as 
Holy Writ. It cuts off no one. No one can be cut off from 
the Church who was never in it. No one was ever in the 
25 



290 THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

Church of Christ who was never " born again." The argu- 
ment may show many that they were never in the Church, 
and thus give them the opportunity to enter into it, but it 
will never cut any off who were never in it. In the same 
way it never unchristianizes any one. No one who has 
never been christianized can be unchristianized. Nicodemus 
had never been christianized, and consequently was not un- 
christianized by any thing Jesus said. He was only shown, 
or would have been shown if he had understood the Lord, 
that he was never in the kingdom — never christianized. 
The same would be true of thousands now if they should 
understand this teaching; they would learn simply that 
they had never been in the kingdom, and could not be cut 
off from a kingdom which they had never been in ; that 
they had never been christianized, and consequently could 
not be unchristianized. 

What does the Lord mean by the words, " Except a man 
be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into 
the kingdom of God ? " This language was not understood 
by Nicodemus, nor any other man of his time. Nor is it 
well understood now. It will, therefore, be necessary to 
bestow a little careful attention to its elucidation now. 
There is but one birth here, and not two, as some have sup- 
posed. It is one birth, " of water and of the Spirit," and 
not two births, one of water and one of Spirit. This is so 
clear from the structure of the language itself, that it is 
useless to argue it here. What does this figurative word 
" birth " here stand for ? or, in other words, what does 
"born again" mean, or amount to, in literal language? It 
literally means turned to the Lord, converted, or made a 
Christian. That is all there is in it. But, returning again 
to the figure "born of water and of the Spirit;" what is the 
sum of it? In order to a literal birth, there are two things 
necessary: 1. Begetting. 2. Birth. Those two parts are in- 



THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 291 

eluded in our Lord's figurative language. One of these 
parts is ascribed to the Spirit, and the other to the water, 
as the one, in a natural birth, is ascribed to the father, and 
the other to the mother. When a child is born of its par- 
ents, or of the father and mother, it is clearly begotten by 
the father and born of the mother. In the figurative lan- 
guage in hand, the begetting is of the Spirit and the birth 
of the water. 

But what is the precise thing meant by being begotten 
of the Spirit ? It it precisely the same as begotten of God, 
for it is of God, of Christ, of the apostles, and of the word 
of God, and ascribed to God, Christ, the Spirit, the apostles, 
and the Word, but in different senses. It is ascribed to 
God as the author of it ; to Jesus as the Mediator, by whom 
it is effected ; by the Spirit as the agent ; by the apostles 
w T hom he employed to speak the word, and by the word as 
the instrument by which it is done. Literally : what, then, 
is done when a man is begotten of God ? lie is made a be- 
liever. This is the sum total of what is meant by the figu- 
rative expression begotten. "Begotten of God" is made a 
believer by means ordained of God. When a man is be- 
gotten by the word of truth, he is simply made a believer 
by the word of truth. When the apostle says "I have be- 
gotten you by the Gospel," it is, literally, I have made you 
believers by preaching the Gospel to you. Paul ascribed 
this begetting to himself in view of his instrumentality in 
preaching the Gospel. He could have ascribed it to the 
Spirit, as the agent who spoke through him, or to God, 
who gave the Spirit, as the author of it all, or to the word 
as the immediate instrument through whom they were 
made believers. The part of the work, then, in the expres- 
sion " born of water and of the Spirit," ascribed to the 
Spirit, is making the believer. The part ascribed to the 
water is baptism. It amounts to the same as the words in 



292 THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

the commission, " He who believes and is immersed, shall 
be saved." The part ascribed to the Spirit stands for belief, 
the part ascribed to the water stands for immersion, and 
entering into the kingdom amounts to the same as " saved;" 
for all who enter the kingdom are saved or pardoned, and 
none who do not enter the kingdom are saved or pardoned. 

But some one is ready to say, " You are not to assume 
that ' born of water y is the same in amount as baptism." 
Why not? This language was applied to baptism by Lu- 
ther, Calvin, Wesley, and all the distinguished reformers. 
It is so applied by all the authorities of note in all the 
libraries. This very language is quoted and applied to 
baptism in the Episcopalian creed, the Methodist creed, 
and the Presbyterian creed, and the churches having these 
creeds have so held from the commencement of their exist- 
ence. There is, then, nothing novel in taking this ground. 
The strange part is, that those who have had this in their 
creed from the commencement of their church existence, 
should now repudiate it. The sum of it is, then, that the 
Lord taught, by the figurative expression, "Except a man 
be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter the 
kingdom of God," the same he did afterward, literally, in 
the words : " He who believes and is immersed shall be 
saved" — "or except a man shall believe and be immersed 
he can not be saved." The difference is only in form of 
expression and not in substance. 

"But," a man exclaims, "our preacher explains all that 
by quoting the words, " The wind bloweth where it listeth, 
and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence 
it cometh nor whither it gocth ; so is every one that is born 
of the Spirit." Before your preacher or any body else can 
explain any thing by quoting that passage, he must tell us 
what that passage itself means. Xo passage can explain 
any thing unless the passage itself can be understood by the 



THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 293 

person for whom the explanation is made. But it must be 
here stated that this passage is not quoted to explain any- 
thing. It is quoted for the purpose of hiding a dark or 
obscure passage, and appearing to be explaining when noth- 
ing is being explained. It is a little like Dr. George Camp- 
bell, of Scotland, in quizzing a student about a sermon he had 
heard. He asked the student what he thought of it. He 
replied that it was very great. " What was there in it that 
was great?" said the doctor. "It was profound," replied 
the student. "What was there in it profound?" inquired 
the doctor. " It was deep," responded the student. " Muddy 
water always appears deep," said the doctor. That is the 
way with referring to this passage, it is to get into muddy 
water to appear deep. 

But now some attention must be bestowed on this ob- 
scure passage, and an effort made to ascertain what the Lord 
meant. No man, who never read any thing but the com- 
mon version, is to blame for not understanding this Scrip- 
ture, for it is wholly unintelligible. The first thing, then, 
will be to show that there is nothing about " wind " in the 
passage — that the Lord is not telling what the wind does, 
or what it does not; what it is like, or what it is not like. 
He is talking about the Spirit; not merely spirit, but the 
Spirit; what the Spirit does — the Spirit of God — and not 
what the wind does or does not do. The original Greek 
word rendered "wind" here, in the common version, is 
pneuma, and the following reasons are given to show that 
it does not mean "wind," and should not be so translated: 

1. Pneuma is not the Greek word translated "wind" in 
other passages where we know "wind" is meant. The 
Greek word anemos occurs thirty-one times in the New 
Testament, and is rightly translated "wind" in every in- 
stance in the common version. If the Lord had meant 
" wind," he would unquestionably have used anemos, which 



294 THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

means wind, and not pneuma, which means sjyirit. Pneo 
is, in one instance, translated wind in the common version, 
and that, too, where it is clear that wind is meant. 

2. Pneuma occurs three hundred and eighty-six times in 
the New Testament, and is not translated "wind" in any- 
other instance but that one in the common version. It is 
the original for spirit, and is translated "spirit," or its 
equivalent, "ghost," in every instance where these words 
are found in the common version, with probably one excep- 
tion. What ground had the translators for turning aside 
here, and where pneuma not only means spirit, but the 
Spirit of God, translating it " wind?" They had not a rea- 
son in the world for it. 

3. The same original Greek word pneuma, occurs in 
four other instances in the same connection, and is trans- 
lated "spirit" in each of these four places in the common 
version. By what rule did they, in the same connection 
in our Lord's discourse, and on precisely the same subject, 
translate pneuma, spirit, four times and wind once ? There 
can certainly be no reason for this. The Lord meant 
spirit every time he used the word pneuma in this passage, 
and in the case in hand he meant the Holy Spirit, or the 
Spirit of God. 

But some further attention must now be given to the 
King James' version of the passage. No man is to blame 
for not understanding this passage if he never heard any 
thing but the common version. It is simply unintelligible. 
Please pause and look at it. It starts out with the word 
"wind." Well, what does it make our Lord say about the 
wind? Why, simply, that "the wind blows." Well, that 
is precisely what the wind does — it blows. Where does it 
make the Lord say the wind blows? "Where it listeth." 
This old English word "listeth" means pleases or wills. 
The wind blows where it j)kases or wills. But the wind 



THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 295 

has neither pleasure nor will. Pleasure and will belong to 
intelligence and not to inanimate matter. But what more 
does the common version make the Lord say about the 
wind ? "Thou nearest the sound thereof, and canst not tell 
whence it cometh nor whither it goeth." Which is it that 
this version makes our Lord say? Nicodemus could not 
tell whence it came nor whither it went, the sound or the 
wind. Certainly he could have told whence the sound or 
the wind either came. But it makes the Lord proceed, 
"So is every one that is born of the Spirit." What is the 
point of comparison here? What is every one born of the 
Spirit compared to ? Is he like the wind or the sound ? or 
is the influence of the Spirit like the wind ? This can not 
be, for Nicodemus could tell whence the wind came and the 
influence of the Spirit. The more you try to understand 
this passage from the common version the darker it appears. 
But now turn aside from the common version, and dis- 
miss all idea of " wind " from your mind, or the Lord, in 
this connection, making any allusion to the wind. He has 
a much greater theme than wind. He starts with "the 
Spirit " — to tell what the Spirit does. " The Spirit breathes." 
What means this word " breathes " ? Saul breathed out 
threatenings against the disciples. How did he breathe out 
threatenings? Breathed them out in words. "The Spirit 
breathes where he pleases or wills." The Spirit is an in- 
telligence, and it is consistent to speak of his breathing 
where he will. He has a will or pleasure, and does as he 
wills or pleases. Well, he breathes or inspires where he 
wills or pleases, and "you hear his voice." This shows 
that the breathing results in uttering words with the voice, 
else you could not hear his voice. Jesus said to the apostles, 
in view of their preaching under the last commission, "It 
shall not be you that speak, but the Holy Spirit shall speak 
in you." The Holy Spirit speaks in the apostles, and men 



296 THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

hear his voice; but at the time the Lord talked with Xico- 
demus, neither he nor any other man knew whence this 
voice of inspiration came, nor whither it tended. That 
was not yet opened up. That was true and applicable in 
the case of Nicodemus and all others then, but not of us 
now. The Lord does not say to us now that we can not 
tell whence this voice of the Spirit of God comes nor 
whither it tends. It comes from heaven, clothed with all 
authority. The Spirit of God inspires or breathes where 
he pleases, and you hear his voice. What is the result of 
hearing his voice? " So is every one that is born of the 
Spirit." Instead of "born," here, we should have begotten: 
" So is every one that is begotten of the Spirit." Still this 
leaves the passage dark. There is one word wanting to 
complete the sense. "So," or, in this way, "is every one 
begotten that is begotten of the Spirit." In what way ? By 
hearing the voice of the Spirit. The Spirit of God breathes 
where he will, or inspires where he pleases, and through 
these inspired persons you hear his voice and are thus be- 
gotten by the Spirit. 

This makes the passage teach the same as " I have begot- 
ten you by the Gospel," which is the same as made you be- 
lievers by the Gospel, or " begotten by the word of truth," 
which is the same as made you believers by the word of 
truth. Whether this is correct or not, one thing is certain, 
it makes it teach truth, as taught in other passages. This is 
safe at least, and makes it intelligible, and doubtless it is 
the meaning of the passage. 

Speaking of the entire process of turning to God, under 
the figure of being " born again," the Lord said to the rabbi 
of Israel, "Marvel not that I said to you, that you must be 
born again." This is putting the case in strong terms. It 
is not that you ought to be born again, that it would be well 
to be born again, or that you should be born again, if you 



THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 297 

feel like it; but "you must be born again." This includes 
the whole — the faith, being made pure in heart, repentance, 
and being immersed — the entire process, or regeneration. 
It is something that must be. Regeneration is not simply 
something that may be, ought to be, or should be, but some- 
thing that must be. It is indispensable. Having now seen 
that our Lord, when speaking of the process of turning to 
God, as a whole, declares it to be something that miLst be, let 
a few moments be spent in looking at some of the parts of 
the process and see if he speaks of them in the same une- 
quivocal manner. Faith is a part of the process, the first 
part, and that which makes the first impression on the 
human soul, and leads to every thing else following in the 
conversion and new life. How, then, does the Lord speak 
of faith? It is indispensable. Hear the word of the 
Lord : " Without faith it is impossible to please him ; for 
he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he 
is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Heb. xi: 
6. He does not say, that it would be well for men to be- 
lieve, that men should believe, or that men ought to believe ; 
but that " he who comes to God must believe." That which 
the Lord says must be, can not be set aside, except at the 
peril of him who does it. 

Please look at another item. Is repentance indispensa- 
ble, or something that must be ? " Except you repent, you 
shall all likewise perish." But some one will say, " It does 
not say you must repent" Do not be too certain of that. 
What does the Lord mean by the word " except ? " " Ex- 
cept you repent, you shall all likewise perish." We must 
have his own comment on this. " Except a man be born 
again he can not enter into the kingdom of God." A few 
words further on, he says, referring to the same thing: 
" Marvel not that I said to you, you must be born again." 
He here explains his words, " Except you be born again, 



298 THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

you can not enter into the kingdom of God," to mean 
" You must be born again." So, when he says, " Except 
you repent, you shall all likewise perish," it is the same as 
" You must repent or perish." The Lord does not trifle 
with men, but informs them what they must and what they 
must not do. There is no such thing as dispensing with 
repentance any more than faith. " He who comes to God 
must believe, and it is equally true that he who comes to 
God must repent. There is no coming to God, on the part 
of any human being, without these indispensable prerequi- 
sites. Without these, a confession, an immersion, joining a 
church, communing, deeds of charity, etc., would all avail 
nothing. They must be in their place. 

""Well," says a man, "I am glad that it does not say 
You must be immersed." In that you may find yourself 
sadly mistaken. It does virtually say, " You must be im- 
mersed." Turn, if you please, to Acts ix: 6, and you will 
find the account of the Lord's appearing to young Saul, and 
proclaiming to him, " I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you 
persecute." Saul inquires, " Lord, what wilt thou have me 
to do ?" The Lord replies, "Arise and go into the city, and 
it shall be told you what you must do." The Lord does not 
say, It shall be told you what is your duty to do, or what 
would be well to do, what you ought to do, if it accords with 
your way of thinking, or if you feci like it, but ivhat you must 
do. The Lord appears to Ananias, and commands him to 
go to Saul and tell him what he must do. Ananias says, 
We have heard of this man, and learn that he is persecuting 
all who call on thy name. The Lord explains that he had 
appeared to him, called him to the ministry, and shown him 
how great things he shall suffer for the name of Jesus, and 
that he was actually praying to him. Ananias, hearing this 
explanation, hesitates not to go to him, to tell him, as the 
Lord commanded, what he must do. Acts xxii: 16, we 



THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 299 

learn what Ananias told him to do, in the following words : 
"Why tarriest thou? Arise, and be immersed, and wash 
away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." In these 
words, he told him, as the Lord commanded, what he must 
do, in doing which he commanded him to be immersed. This 
was one thing, then, that the Lord said he must do* It is, 
then, one thing that men must do now in turning to God. 
It is the terminating act in turning to the Lord. It con- 
eludes the process. 

This is no stronger than the Lord's own language : " Ex- 
cept a man be born of water and of the Spirit he can not 
enter into the kingdom of God." " Born of water" is un- 
doubtedly an allusion to immersion, and, as before stated in 
this discourse, is quoted and applied to baptism by all the 
standard works, the creeds, and principal authorities. The 
Lord gave significance and authority to this institution, 
when he came to John the Immerser and demanded immer- 
sion of him. John excused himself, saying, "I have need 
to be immersed of thee, and comest thou to me?" The 
Lord replied, " Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becomes 
us to fulfill all righteousness." John yielded, in view of 
this exposition, and immersed him. Ascending the bank of 
Jordan, they lifted their eyes, and saw heaven opened and 
the Spirit, in a visible form, descending and resting on the 
Lord. The Almighty Father made this the occasion to in- 
troduce his Son to Israel, and spoke from his excellent glory, 
saying, " This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased." The 
Lord still further shows the importance of this ordinance, 
in saying, as he did to certain Jews, " You rejected the coun- 
sel of God against yourselves, not being immersed by John." 
If men, in refusing to be immersed by John, rejected the 
counsel of God against themselves, what will be the result 
in rejecting the greater immersion, appointed by our Lord, 



300 THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

"into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Spirit?" 

But you shall be detained no longer, now, with the dis- 
cussion of the importance of immersion. It has been shown 
clearly that a man must believe. The reason of this is, that 
faith changes or purifies the heart, and prepares it for the 
service of God. Unless the heart is thus prepared, nothing 
good can follow. It has also been shown that a man mum 
repent. The reason of this is, that repentance is such a 
change in the mind as will result in a change in the future 
life — prepares him in character or life for the new state or 
relation. When the heart is changed by faith, and the life 
is changed by repentance, the subject is ready for induction, 
or initiation, or for a new state or relation. "When Saul 
had believed and repented, and Ananias told what he must 
do, it was what he must do in addition to his faith and re- 
pentance, in order to salvation from past sin and admission 
into the kingdom. In order to this end, he was commanded 
to be immersed. The reason that a man must be immersed 
is, that in immersion he is initiated or inducted into the 
kingdom, the new state or relation. The heart being al- 
ready changed by faith, and his life already changed by re- 
pentance, he is ready for the enjoyment of the new state or 
relation. Faith does not initiate any one into a new state, 
but only changes the heart and prepares a person in heart 
for the new state. Repentance does not initiate any person 
into the new state, but only prepares the person in life for 
initiation. Immersion does not change the heart or life, but 
changes the state or relation of the person previously pre- 
pared in heart and life by faith and repentance for the new 
state or relation. Nor is immersion the evidence of a pre- 
vious pardon, but the last step in order to a future pardon — 
a pardon promised on certain conditions. " He who believes 
and is immersed shall be saved." " Except a man be born 



THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 301 

again he can not enjoy the kingdom of God," or enjoy jus- 
tification, salvation from sin, or pardon. 

u That teaching is unreasonable," says a man. No, sir ; 
it is not unreasonable. There is nothing more reasonable 
and certain than that a man must be born again before he 
can enjoy the kingdom of God, enjoy God himself, or our 
Lord Jesus the Christ. That the unregenerate, the uncon- 
verted, or the people of the world, as they are in their sins, 
can not enjoy God, is as evident as any proposition ever ut- 
tered. Look at it for a few moments. Here is a man who 
is moral, truthful, honest, and honorable as a man of the 
world ; kind and good as a neighbor and in his family. He 
stands transcendently above the immoral, the lying, cor- 
rupt, debased, and dishonest. He says to himself, " I am 
as good as many in the Church. I speak the truth, deal 
honestly, live morally, and would not do many things that 
members of church do, and if I should die, I believe I shall 
be saved." Well, sir, suppose you come up here and take the 
front seat at the Lord's table, as you are already so good, and 
join in the celebration of the Lord's "death. You, no doubt, 
will be happy in contemplating his great sufferings for our 
sins, and partaking of the emblems of his body and blood. 
Come, sit with the saints and view him, as he hung on the 
cross, crowned with thorns, his hands nailed to the cross. 
Look at his face, all crimsoned with blood, and all his 
muscles in a quiver, as he is in the very agonies of death. 
View him, oh ! view him, and keep your mind on him till, 
in your imagination, you see him breathe the last breath, 
silently expire, and his head fall lifeless on his breast. See 
the thick darkness gathering down over the whole land. 
Oh! try and realize the wonderful surroundings, the trem- 
bling earth, crumbling rocks, and the parting of the vail in 
the temple ! Come, as you are good ; sit here and contem- 
plate this scene. You respond "No." Again, you say 



302 THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

"No; I can not enjoy such a scene; I can not come." Xo; 
you can not come. Your heart would revolt at the thought 
and shrink back from the scene. You are as conscious as 
you are of your existence that you would be miserable to 
attempt to participate in this institution. Your soul revolts 
at the idea, and you say, " Xo, friends, let me have a seat in 
some remote part of the house, or walk out." Yes, dear sir ; 
and, for the very same reason, if you were in heaven, you 
could not enjoy it, and would want to walk out. 

Every man not converted, born again, or not regenerated, 
knows this to be the case. There is an utter incongeniality, 
on the part of the unconverted, with Christ, his religion, 
with his Church and worship, or, of course, they would be 
attracted and drawn into it. They know that they do not 
enjoy the apostles' teaching, the prayers, praises, thanksgiv- 
ing, exhortations, and communion — the immediate mingling 
in the worship ; you always see the class alluded to in a 
remote part of the house, or entirely outside in time of 
communion. They feel much better at a distance. Sup- 
pose such a one were carried up into heaven and seated 
among: those who have washed their robes and made them 
white in the blood of the Lamb, and he would lift his eves, 
and survey the immense throng, from every nation, and 
kindred, and tribe, and tongue, and people, who have loved 
Jesus, worshiped, devoted themselves to him and honored 
him in this life, and hear them lift their voices and sing 
" Blessing, and glory, and honor, and power, and dominion, 
and thanksgiving to him who sits on the throne, and to the 
Lamb forever and ever," and suppose he lifts his eves, and 
sees Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Enoch and Elijah, Job and 
Daniel, Isaiah and Jeremiah, with all the ancient worthies, 
arrayed in white, and praising God and the Lamb, would he 
be prepared to join in the grand anthems? He looks again, 
and beholds the apostles of Jesus, immense ranks of the mar- 



THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 303 

tyrs of Jesus, as they walk the streets of the New Jerusalem. 
He looks again, aud sees the long ranks on ranks of the 
angels of God, in the most profound awe and subordination, 
praising and adoring God and the Lamb. He beholds the 
grand throng which no man could number, redeemed by the 
blood of Jesus, and, turning his eye, sees Jesus, in the midst 
of his sublime glory, as he sits on the throne in the heaven 
of heavens, and beholds the face of the Almighty Father of 
heaven and earth. Would not the spirit of him who could 
not come to the Lord's table, and who could not enjoy the 
worship of God in this world, utterly fail here ? Will not 
such call for rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide 
them from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from 
the wrath of the Lamb ; for the great day of his wrath is 
come, and who shall be able to stand ? 

The reflection, then, that Jesus loved me, that he died for 
me, that he gave himself for me, that he, in transcendent 
kindness, invited me to come to him and I would not, will 
thunder home on the conscience. Such language as the fol- 
lowing will then rush into the mind : u Come to me, all you 
that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 
" He who comes to me, I will in nowise cast out." " The 
Spirit says, Come; and the bride says, Come; and whoever 
will, let him come and partake of the water of life freely." 
These invitations, he will remember, were all slighted, and 
are now gone forever. His opportunities are all gone, and 
he is not regenerated and not conformed to the image of 
Jesus; not created anew. AVe need something more to 
make us happy than mere admission into a place of happi- 
ness. We must be regenerated, made new creatures, or we 
could not be happy among the happy, in heaven itself. 
Turn, then, to the Lord, enter the covenant, and live for- 
ever. Come with Christ, become conformed to him and 
made inexpressibly happy in him now and prepared to 



304 THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

enjoy him forever and ever. Remember the word of the 
Lord, " Except a man be born again, he can not see the 
kingdom of God." " Marvel not that I said to you, you 
must be born again." " Xo man comes to the Father, but 
by me." " I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men to me." 
" I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end- 
ing, the first and the last, the bright and morning star." 
To his name be honor and power everlasting. 



SERMON, No. XIII. 

THE3IE.-UNI0N OF CHRISTIANS. 

Text— "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you are called in 
one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one immersion, one 
God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in 
you all."— Eph. iv: 4-6. 

The subject in hand is the union of the people of God. 
It is necessary to have a clear understanding at the start. 
It is not the union of "professors of religion," "professed 
Christians," " Christian sects," or" Christian denominations," 
that is to be considered, but simply the union of Christians, 
those who are truly the people of God. The union of others, 
before they are connected to God, is not in view nor de- 
sirable. They will do less harm divided than united. Two 
propositions will be discussed in this discourse and sus- 
tained : 

I. God requires all Christians to unite in one body. 

II. There is a common ground on which all the people of 
God can unite without any sacrifice of truth or conscience. 

Those two points being well cleared up, the way is open 
for the union of all God's children, for them to be one, to 
dwell in peace and love. To the work in hand, then, let 
attention be directed. 

I. God requires all Christians to unite in one body. 
. Something of immense value may be learned by careful 
attention to the practice of the most devoted and pious. 

26 (305) 



306 UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 

Turn your attention, then, to this class for a few moments. 
There have been some in all ages who have read the Scrip- 
tures and worshiped in their families. What kind of pray- 
ers have been going up to heaven from these pious family 
circles for generations past? Among many subjects of 
prayer, the union of the children of God has been one con- 
stant subject. The cry has been ascending to heaven from 
the pure in heart, the true and the holy, " O that the time 
may come when we shall all see eye to eye, and walk hand 
in hand." Will this supplication all be lost, or will it yet 
be answered? It will be answered as sure as the Lord 
lives. Turn your attention to another place of prayer. 
There is a meeting they call the "prayer-meeting." This 
is not a popular meeting. It usually averages from three 
up to twenty. At this meeting a few of the true and the 
holy, the devoted and pious, come together, frequently 
without any preacher to dispute about depravity, effectual 
calling, final perseverance, or any of the antiquated bones 
of contention that never had any substance to keep a saint 
from starving, and they engage in devout supplications. 
Here, again, the fervent petition wells up from a devout 
heart : " O that the time may come when all jars, discords, 
and divisions shall be done away forever, and when all the 
saints shall be united." These holy cries have not been 
ascending to heaven in vain for ages past. They are all 
treasured up in the mind of the most gracious and merci- 
ful Father in heaven. They will one day all be answered. 
But turn your attention to the great " union prayer- 
meeting," in some city, where a thousand meet on a morn- 
ing for prayer. A brother rises to speak, and all eyes are 
turned toward him. His whole countenance is lighted up. 
He commences: "I believe the millennium is coming; I 
never was so happy in all my life. Here we are from differ- 
ent churches, all on one floor, without regard to our differ* 



UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 307 

ent views or denominations." A hundred voices are heard 
at once, "Thank God for it." They all solemnly bow 
down, and the prayer goes up to heaven: " O that we may 
all speak the same thing; be of the same mind and the 
same judgment; be perfectly joined together, and that there 
may be no divisions among us." These petitions are not, 
and will not, be lost. They will all be answered. 

"I wanted Scripture," says a man, "and not prayers; 
these prove nothing." Do not be mistaken. They contain 
the righteous sentiment of the souls of the pure and the 
holy. Please turn your attention to one more prayer. 
Just before the Lord suffered he poured forth his holy 
soul in that wonderful prayer, usually styled his interces- 
sory—truly and properly " the Lord's prayer " — the prayer 
he prayed himself, and not the one he taught his disciples 
to pray. In the midst of his solemn and sublime supplica- 
tions he says, "I pray not for these alone; but for them 
also who shall believe on me through their word. That 
they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in 
thee, that they also may be one in us : that the world may 
believe that thou hast sent me." John xvii: 20, 21. What 
is the sum of this prayer? 1. It is a prayer for all who 
shall believe through the words of the apostles. 2. The 
prayer is that they all may be one. 3. The manner of the 
oneness — to be one as he and the Father are one. 4. What 
is to be accomplished by the oneness or union — that the 
world may believe, or that the world may be converted. 

Do you inquire how, or in what sense, he and his Father 
are one? They are one in mind, in the work of saving man, 
in the will of God to save men — one in the same Gospel, the 
same Church, ordinances, worship, and every thing. They 
work in perfect harmony, in the same mind and in the same 
judgment. There is not a jar nor a discord between them. 
They co5perate in the same work. This is the way in 



308 UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 

which the saints should be one — as Jesus and his Father 
are one — in the same work, in the same mind, and the 
same judgment, without a jar or discord. The tendency 
of such union would be the conversion of the world, for he 
adds, "That the world may believe that thou hast sent 
me." Can any one having the Spirit of Christ fail to pray 
for such union ? If we pray for it, can we fail to labor for 
it? Where the love of partyism prevails, they not only 
do not pray for union, but teach the people that it is a 
wise providence of God that we have so many churches, and 
thank God for them, as extended means of grace. 

Before the founding of the Church, and speaking of it 
prospectively — John x: 16 — the Lord said: "There shall 
be one fold and one Shepherd." The " one fold," or one 
flock, spoken of here is the Church or kingdom. AVhen 
he uttered this he did not see any wise providence of God 
in having many folds and many shepherds, but authorita- 
tively declared " There shall be one fold and one Shepherd." 
Again — 1 Cor. x : 1 7— Paul says : " For we being many 
are one bread," or one loaf, "and one body; for we are all 
partakers of that one bread," or one loaf. Again — 1 Cor. 
xii: 12 — he says: "For as the body is one, and has many 
members, and all the members of that one body, being 
many, are one body ; so also is Christ." In the next verse 
he says: "By one Spirit are we all immersed into one 
body, whether Jews or Gentiles, bond or free; and have all 
been made to drink into one Spirit." There is, then, but 
one body or Church, or, which is the same, but one king- 
dom of Christ. Hence you read of the one fold, the house 
of God, the family of God, the building of God, the temple 
of God, God's husbandry, etc. ; and while these are all figu- 
rative expressions, the same idea of unity is all the time 
maintained in all of them. 

In the first chapter of the first letter to the Corinthians, 



UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 309 

the apostle alludes to divisions partially formed in the 
Church, and the passage is so instructive that it must not 
be passed by with a single remark. Some apologize for 
the divisions now existing on the ground that they are not 
about vital or fundamental matters — that they are about 
unimportant and non-essential matters. On that account 
the divisions are not of much consequence, and excusable. 
But what were the divisions, coming into existence and 
rapidly culminating at the time the apostle wrote this letter, 
about ? Were they about fundamental matters ? Certainly 
not, but their preferences for their preachers. Some said, 
" I am of Paul ; " others, " I am of Apollos ;" or, to mod- 
ernize it, "I am a Paulite; I am an Apollosite," etc. There 
was no fundamental question at issue among them. The 
questions in dispute were quite non-essential; simply about 
their preferences for their most public and influential men. 
Some were for one, and some for another. 1 Cor. iii : 4, he 
says, " While one says, I am of Paul : and another, I am of 
Apollos, are you not carnal ? Who then is Paul, and who 
is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed, even as 
the Lord gave to every man V 1 Cor. iv : 6, he says : 
"And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred 
to myself, and to Apollos for your sakes." This prudence 
he exercised to avoid the mention of names more immedi- 
ately involved. Why did he not excuse the matter on the 
ground that the divisions were about unimportant matters — 
merely about their preferences for their preachers ? Instead 
of this being an excuse, it was the more shame for them 
that they should be divided about such an unimportant 
matter as the preferences for their public men. 

The next item of importance appearing in the case is 
that division among Christians is an evidence of carnality. 
1 Cor. iii : 3, he says, " For you are yet carnal : for whereas 
there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are 



310 UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 

you not carnal, and walk as men?" Jude says, "These 
be they who separate themselves, sensual, not having the 
Spirit." Jude 19. Carnal is the opposite of spiritual. 
"Sensual" is the same as carnal, or fleshly, and Jude ex- 
plains more fully by adding "not having the Spirit." 
People who have divisions are carnal, sensual, not having 
the Spirit. 

Another important item of instruction derived from this 
passage is that it is not allowable to assume a human re- 
ligious name, or to call a body of Christians after a man, 
or to take the name of a man as a religious designation. 
If it were right to take the name of any man as a religious 
designation, it would certainly be right to take the name 
of such a man as Paul, Peter, or Apollos. Yet Paul 
makes a direct argument against this. Hear him: "For it 
has been declared to me of you, my brethren, by those of 
the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. 
Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul ; 
and I of Apollos ; and I of Cephas ; and I of Christ." 1 
Cor. i: 11, 12. This is the state of case as he finds it. In 
order to show them how absurd and ridiculous their posi- 
tion was, he puts the question, " Is Christ divided ? " 
Their position implied that Christ was divided. This ques- 
tion he put to the whole of them, knowing that there could 
be but one answer. The Lord is one — a unit. Then, with 
propriety, he turns to those who said they were of Paul, or 
that they were Paulites, and inquired, "Was Paul crucified 
for you?" If you are to be Paulites, Paul should have 
been crucified for you, but as Paul was not crucified for 
you, there was no ground for saying you are of Paul. 
This reasoning he knew sensible people would apply to all 
other names as well as the name of Paul. But he pro- 
ceeded to press them still more tightly : " Were you im- 
mersed into the name of Paul?" He knew that they all 



UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 311 

would say certainty we were not immersed into the name 
of Paul, but "into Christ." He proceeds farther to argue 
that he gave them no ground for saying they were of Paul, 
or Paulites, by adding : " I thank God that I immersed 
none of you, but Crispus and Gaius ; lest any should say 
that I immersed into my own name. And I immersed also 
the house of Stephanas ; besides, I do not know whether 
I immersed any others. " 1 Cor. i: 13-16. This language 
needs a little careful attention in this age of perversion. 
He does not say, as many quote, that he thanked God that 
he never immersed many, nor even that he had not im- 
mersed many of the Christians, but, speaking to those who 
said they were of Paul, " I thank God that I immersed 
none of you " — you who say you are of Paul, only the few 
specified. Why does he thank God for this? Because he 
did not think immersion of much consequence? No; that 
is not his reason. What, then? He adds, "Lest any 
should say I had immersed into my own name." He might 
have added, For here are some saying I am of Paul, and I 
am thankful that I never gave them any ground for saying 
" I am of Paul," not even so much as to have immersed 
them, excepting a few. From this reasoning the following 
is clear : 

1. That as Christ was crucified for them, they should be 
called after him. 

2. As they were not immersed into the name of Paul, 
but .into Christ, they should be called after Christ, and not 
after Paul, or any other man. 

3. That it is schismatical and sinful to have any human 
leader or name in the kingdom of God. 

4. That as Christ was crucified for them, and they had 
been immersed into Christ, into one body and one name, 
they should remain in union in the one body and the name 
of the Lord. 



312 UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 

But now for the remedy where Christians are divided. 
What did he entreat or beseech these divided Christians to 
do? Does he make some feeble excuse for them that they 
can not see alike; that they differ in their personal appear- 
ance; that there are varieties in all nature, and tell them 
that it is a wise providence of God that they are divided, 
etc. Not a word of it. What, then? Hear his holy en- 
treaty : " Xow I beseech you, brethren, by the name of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, 
and that there be no divisions among you; but that you 
be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the 
same judgment. " Where this divine authority prevails, 
there is an end to division among Christians. Where it 
does not prevail, rebellion against God prevails. 

But now turn to the text read at the outset, Eph. iv : 
1-6 : " I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you 
that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are 
called, with all lowliness and long-suffering, forbearing one 
another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the 
Spirit in the bond of peace." The apostle alludes to his 
being the prisoner of the Lord to touch their hearts. He, 
no doubt, remembered the solemn and affectionate parting 
when he in person separated from them, and when they 
" sorrowed most of all for the words which he spoke, that 
they should see his face no more." Having alluded to his 
being " the prisoner of the Lord," he entreats them to en- 
deavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 
He then proceeds to give seven reasons why they should 
endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit, or, which is the 
same, maintain union. These reasons are as follows: 

1. "There is one body," or but one body. The argument 
is this: Inasmuch as there is but one body of Christ, or 
one Church, we should endeavor to keep the unity of the 
Spirit. 



UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 313 

2. There is " one Spirit/' or but one Spirit to dwell in 
the one body ; and as there is but one Holy Spirit to dwell 
in the one body, or Church, we should endeavor to keep the 
unity of the Spirit, or maintain union in the body. 

3. There is " one hope," or but one hope for the whole 
family both in heaven and on earth. As we all have but 
the one hope, we should endeavor to keep the unity of the 
Spirit — maintain union among all who have this one hope 
in the one body. 

4. There is " one Lord," or but one Lord, the head of the 
one body, and, inasmuch as there is but one Lord, the head 
of the one body, we should keep the unity of the Spirit in 
the bond of peace. 

5. There is " one faith," or but one faith from God for 
the one body ; and as there is but one faith for the one body, 
we should all endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit, or 
strive to maintain union among all God's children. 

6. There' is "one immersion," or but one immersion, the 
initiatory rite for the one body. It is not one sprinkle, one 
sprinkling, one pour, or one pouring ; nor three immersions 
into three names, but " one immersion " into one name, one 
body, or Church ; and, as there is but one immersion into 
one body, we should endeavor to keep the unity of the 
Spirit. 

7. There is "one God and Father of all, who is above all, 
and through all, and in you all." This is the grand culmi- 
nation of all his reasons for keeping the unity of the Spirit. 
As there is one God, or but one God and Father of all, 
above all, and through all, and in you all, you should en- 
deavor to keep the unity of the Spirit, or maintain union 
among the children of God, in the one body. Such is the 
apostle's argument in detail. It may all be summed up in 
one sentence, as follows: As there is but one body or 
Church; but one Spirit to dwell in that one body; but one 

27 



314 UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 

hope set before that one body; but one Lord, the head of 
that one body ; but one faith in that one body ; but one im- 
mersion, the initiatory rite of that one body; and but one 
God and Father of all, above all, through all, and in you 
all, the author of it all, we should endeavor to maintain the 
unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace, in that one body. 

So far, then, as Scripture authority can settle any thing, 
these scriptures and reasonings show that God requires all 
Christians to unite. The way is now clear for the second 
head introduced at the commencement. 

II. There is a common ground on which all the people 
of God can unite without any sacrifice of truth or con- 
science. 

Negative preaching generally does not amount to much, 
but it may be of some importance to show up some ground 
on which union is not possible. This can be done by an illus- 
tration. Suppose, then, you were in a vast convention of fifty 
of the religious parties, all largely represented by preachers 
and private members. Suppose, further, that they have all 
agreed that the Lord requires the union of Christians. They 
are now in convention, searching for ground on which they 
can unite. Archbishop Purcell proceeds to address the con- 
vention as follows : 

" I am rejoiced that you have all agreed that God requires 
union among all the people of God. We in Holy Mother 
Church have held this all the time; but I never saw my 
way clear till now to propose union. But as you have now 
all agreed that union is right, I am encouraged to propose 
a plan of union. Here I have in my hand the oldest creed 
in the world. Our Church is the oldest and the la 
church. Look at our tall spires and massive cathedrals in 
all parts of the world. Look at our extended schools and 
colleges. See, too, what an extended ministry. Here is the 
Church and creed for union. Here is the true union ground 



UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 315 

where we stand. Now, all you who are willing to unite on 
one creed and in our church, hold up your hand." He 
stands and looks over the convention in immense suspense 
and astonishment, seeing but one hand — the Romanist 
hand — high up, while there are forty-nine down. He takes 
his seat and hangs down his head in discouragement. 

A bishop in the Episcopalian Church rises next and says : 
"I did not think we could ever agree to unite in the Ro- 
man Catholic Church. There has been too much persecu- 
tion in that body for us Protestants. We never could unite 
there. But I have risen to propose union in our church 
and on the Prayer-Book. Our church is older than many 
others, and is now considered an established thing. The 
Prayer-Book is older than the most of your creeds, is en- 
tirely orthodox, and, I believe, the best book in the world 
except the Bible. We have a learned ministry, an elegant 
literature, and the most elegant church edifices in the land. 
Now, I trust, you will all see that we occupy the true ground 
of union, and that you will all unite with us in our church, 
and on our creed. All you who are in favor of uniting on 
our ground, will please hold up the hand." He stands in 
anxiety, looking over the house and sees one hand — the 
Episcopalian — high up, but forty-nine down. "Is it pos- 
sible that there is but one out of forty -nine for our church?" 
he exclaims, and takes his seat. 

Next comes Dr. N. L. Rice, of the Presbyterian Church, 
with the Confession of Faith in his hand, exclaiming, "I 
knew that you could never unite in the Roman Catholic 
Church. I have no doubt you have read my lectures on 
Romanism, delivered in Bardstown, Kentucky, many years 
ago, in which I showed up the dangers of that church. As 
to my friend, the Episcopalian bishop, he and myself are on 
good terms, but I did not think you could unite with him 
on his Prayer-Book. But here I hold in my hand the best 



316 UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 

book in the world except the Bible ; this blessed little book, 
the Confession of Faith. Here is the book on which we 
can unite. Here each point of our doctrine is stated clearly 
and concisely, and below it is the scripture that proves it. 
Then look at our wise church polity, with our presbyteries, 
synods, and general assemblies. Then look at our learned 
ministry, our extended literature, our elegant church edifices, 
colleges, and theological schools. Here is the ground for 
union. All who are for union on our ground, in our church 
and on our creed, will please hold up the hand." With anx- 
ious suspense, he looks over the house and sees one hand — 
the Presbyterian hand — high up, but forty-nine hands down. 
Forty-nine against the Presbyterian ground of union for one 
for it. There is no possibility of union on that ground. 

He is not more than seated till up comes a Methodist 
bishop, Discipline in hand, who proceeds to speak as fol- 
lows: "I know that you could never unite in that old per- 
secuting church — the Romish — and I also knew that you 
would never agree to unite in the Episcopalian Church. We 
Methodists have read how Episcopalians persecuted Father 
Wesley for forming his little praying societies, meeting in- 
nocently in them, and praying for more personal holiness 
and a deeper work of grace. Nor could we Methodists ever 
think of uniting on the Presbyterian Confession, containing 
what Father Wesley called ' the horrible decree of election 
and predestination/ and that other doctrine, that church 
officers have power to open and shut the kingdom of God, 
to remit and retain sins, as taught under the heads ( De- 
crees/ and t Church Censures.' But now, here is our most 
excellent book of Discipline, with its twenty-five articles, its 
general rules, its arrangement for class, its mighty ministry, 
circuit-riders, presiding elders, and bishops; its great book- 
concern, with all its massive publications, spacious church 
edifices, schools, colleges, and theological schools. I do be- 



UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 317 

lieve our church will take the world. Now here is our 
ground of union. All who are in favor of uniting with us 
on our ground, in our church and on the Discipline, will 
please hold up the hand." He stands in awful suspense and 
looks, and, to his profound astonishment, there is but one 
hand up — the Methodist hand — and forty-nine hands down. 
Forty-nine against and one for Methodism! He takes his 
seat with the others. Do not say this is only a piece of 
imagination. You can not deny that this is the way they 
would vote, if they were here and acting on the subject. 

Some man shouts from the audience, " Try the Campbellite 
church, and see if they will fare any better." That is a 
puzzling matter. It is said they will not write out their 
doctrine, and that no man knows what they believe. It 
must not, therefore, be expected that a statement of the doc- 
trine, or the ground, be presented. The least that can be 
done for the case is promised. Suppose, then, there is a 
man of that order here and he takes the stand and says, " I 
have found the true ground of union, the catholicon, the 
grand panacea for all your troubles." He puts in his plea, 
states his doctrine, and square out calls it " Campbellism," 
and, crying aloud, calls for all who are for uniting with him 
on his ground to hold up their hand. In profound amaze- 
ment, and astonishment, he sees not one hand up. Nobody 
is for it. It is hoped, therefore, that it will not come in the 
way any more. 

But what is to be done? No ground of union is devel- 
oped. But far back a little man is seen, of quick step and 
venerable appearance, advancing toward the stand. To the 
astonishment of all it is "Paul the aged." He takes the 
Bible in hand and says, " I see a passage in this book that 
I wrote eighteen hundred years ago, under the inspiration 
of the Spirit of God. It reads as follows : ' All scripture is 
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, 



318 UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 

for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; 
that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished 
to all good works.' 2 Tim. iii: 16, 17% I understand that 
you all admit that the things I wrote, except where I ex- 
plained that it was my own advice, were from the Lord. 
As these Scriptures (holding the Bible) are from God, and 
profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction, 
that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished to 
all good works, I propose that you all agree to unite on 
those Scriptures, with the determination that you will re- 
ceive heartily and believe every thing in them and practice 
as they teach in all things. This you can do without any 
sacrifice of truth or conscience, for you all admit that you 
believe all that is contained in these Scriptures and that you 
believe nothing in religion that is not contained in them. 
Now, I propose that you all believe on Christ, unite on 
these Scriptures and stand where we, the apostles and the 
first Christians all stood. All who are in favor of uniting 
on this ground, will please hold up the hand." Forty-nine 
can go for this, without any sacrifice of truth or conscience, 
and only one can not. The Romanists can not, without re- 
jecting their unwritten traditions. Here is the only possible 
union ground for the people of God. This ground is pos- 
sible, and there is not a man living who can offer a reason- 
able objection to it. 

Some man explains as follows : " Our creed is the same 
as Scripture. We took it all from the Bible." Then the 
way is clear for you to unite on the Bible, for if you took 
all your creed out of the Bible, you will find it all in the 
Bible, and you will lose nothing of truth or conscience. 

Some other man explains a little different from the one 
just alluded to. He says, "Our creed was not, word for 
word, taken from the Bible, but it is like the Bible — the 
same in substance." If that is so, your way is clear for 



UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 319 

uniting on the Bible, for if your " creed is like the Bible — 
the same in substance/' the Bible will answer the purpose 
as well as your creed. The Bible will certainly do as well 
as a creed like the Bible. You can unite on the Bible with- 
out any sacrifice of truth or conscience. 

The matter rests here: If a creed contains more than the 
Bible, it contains too much, and whatever it contains more 
than the Bible is objectionable, and it is to be rejected be- 
cause it contains too much. If a creed contains less than 
the Bible, it contains too little, and whatever it contains less 
than the Bible, is demanded, and the creed is rejected be- 
cause it contains too little. If a creed differs from the 
Bible, it is wrong where it differs from the Bible, and is to 
be rejected because it differs from the Bible. If a creed is 
like the Bible, it is useless, for, in that case, the Bible will 
certainly do as well as a creed like the Bible. There is no 
other ground that a man can take. If he wants a creed, it 
must be because it contains more than the Bible, because it 
contains less than the Bible, because it differs from the Bible, 
or because it is like the Bible. If it contains more than the 
Bible, whatever it contains more is an addition to the Bible. 
We must not add to the Word of God. If it contains less 
than the Bible, it takes from the Bible. This incurs the dis- 
pleasure of the Lord. " If any man shall take away from 
the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out 
of the book of life." If it differs from the Bible, all know 
it is wrong where it differs from the Bible, for the Bible is 
right. If it is like the Bible, it is useless, for we have the 
Bible. 

"What, then, is to be done with all the creeds?" says a 
man. Do with the whole of them as some of the preachers 
have done with the Bible — pronounce them " a dead letter." 
There can be no general union till they are abolished, made 
null and void, entirely abrogated. As long as a single one 



320 UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 

of them is in force anywhere, schism will exist. They are 
subversive of the peace, harmony, cooperation, and fellow- 
ship of the people of God in the way of every good work, 
and subversive of the divine authority. Their influence 
must be entirely swept away, and the supreme authority 
of the Holy Scriptures restored, not in word, but in prac- 
tice, before the restoration of union among the children of 
God. They are not the unwritten traditions of Rome, but 
the written traditions of Protestants, and it is as indispen- 
sable to the success of the cause of Christ, and the peace and 
harmony of the children of God, that their power be de- 
stroyed as it was that the power of the unwritten traditions 
of the Church of Rome should have been destroyed in the 
time of Luther. 

Why, for illustration, are not the Methodists and Pres- 
byterians united ? You reply, " They do not believe alike." 
They both believe the Bible. Wherein, then, do they not 
believe alike? The Methodist Discipline is an addition to 
the Bible, and the Presbyterians do not believe it. The 
Presbyterian Confession of Faith is an addition to the Word 
of God, and the Methodists do not believe it. They are 
not divided about the Bible, for, as stated before, they both 
believe the Bible. They are agreed about the Bible — that 
it is all true. They disagree about their creeds. Neither 
party believes the other party's creed. Their difference is 
not about the Bible nor Christianity. They all believe the 
Bible and Christianity; but their difference is about their 
creeds. Methodism and Presbyterianism — things not in the 
Bible. 

But now some reasons, in regular order, must be pro- 
duced for proposing union on the Bible alone: 

1. The Church had no creed but the Bible, or the law 
of God as found in the Bible, during the first three centu- 
ries. That it had no creed but the law of God during the 



UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 321 

life-time of the apostles, when it had all the grand and sub- 
lime sanctions of supernatural power, is equal to divine 
authority for no creed but the law of God. That its pros- 
perity when it had no creed but the Bible was greater than 
it has ever been under any creed, is also an argument 
against all human creeds. That it never had a general di- 
vision during the period when it had no law but the law 
of God, is a transcendant argument against all human laws 
in religion. 

2. Wesley said, "Would to God that all party names 
were forgot, and that we, as humble, loving brethren, might 
sit down together at the Master's feet, read his Holy Word, 
imbibe his Spirit, and transcribe his life in our own." The 
Episcopalian, Presbyterian, and Methodist creeds contain 
the following : " The Holy Scriptures contain all things 
necessary to salvation, so that whatsoever is not read therein, 
or may not be proved thereby, is not to be required of any 
man that it should be believed as an article of faith or 
thought requisite to salvation." Wesley says in the Gen- 
eral Rules for his Societies, and speaking of them, " All of 
which we are taught of God to observe, even in his written 
word, which is the sufficient and the only infallible rule 
both of our faith and practice." Chillingworth says, "The 
Bible, and the Bible alone, is the religion of Protestants." 
The time is now come not only to announce these things 
as eulogies on the Bible, but to carry them out in practice. 
These things are all backed up by Paul in the Scripture 
before quoted. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of 
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correc- 
tion, and instruction in righteousness, that the man of God 
may be perfect, thoroughly furnished to every good work." 
This is an end to the controversy with reasonable people. 
You can have no more than the man of God perfected and 
thoroughly furnished for all good works. 



322 UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 

3. The Bible-alone ground is not now a mere matter of 
theory. The thing has been submitted to practice, and, 
before the heavens and the earth, there is now actual dem- 
onstration. When the movement was first made, the op- 
posers used to tell its friends that in a few years there 
would be nothing of it; that it would soon be numbered 
among the things that were; that the novelty of the move- 
ment was the chief attraction ; that many persons are always 
seeking something new. But in many communities in the 
United States, the movement has* been before the world 
fifty years. The cause has had the trial of time. The re- 
sult is, that in such communities it is more firmly es- 
tablished than anywhere else. In the section of country 
where Barton W. Stone first broke the Presbyterian ranks, 
the cause is as firmly established as anywhere else, and 
the general sentiment of the people is now on the side of 
the Bible cause. But Presbyterianism is on the decline 
there, and has been ever since. At the time the move- 
ment was fully inaugurated in Kentucky, the Presbyterians 
numbered some thirty thousand in that State. They have 
dwindled down till they now number less than ten thou- 
sand, while the Disciples of the Lord have increased till 
they number probably one hundred thousand. In all the 
means and resources f6r operating on the world and mov- 
ing society, the Christians in that State now stand in ad- 
vance of all others. This is true of other sections of country, 
and large sections too. It is true, too, of those sections 
where the intelligence, the cultivation, and elevation of the 
country are of the first order. 

4. It was argued, at an early period in the movement 
for union on the Bible, that preachers and private members 
of such different doctrines and views as exist among the 
people of this and other countries, were better off separated 
than they would be united — that such discordant elements 



UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 323 

could not be brought together and harmonized. But this 
reasoning was all short-sighted and fallacious. It pro- 
ceeded on the assumption that they were to remain parti- 
sans, to love partyism, cherish party spirit and feeling. 
They did not understand that the very first thing was to 
cure a man of that — to destroy all that party feeling in his 
soul, and plant, in its stead, the love of Christ, of union, 
harmony, and fellowship. They have lived long enough 
now, in many instances, to see actual demonstration. They 
now see the preachers from different orders coming, uniting, 
and harmoniously working together. They see the private 
members coming from all parties and uniting on the Bible, 
falling in with the utmost harmony. Thousands who have 
thus been gathered are now on every Lord's day seated to- 
gether at the Lord's table and commemorating the Lord's 
death as if they had always been one. Many of these have 
thus traveled the road together till they have grown old 
and are waiting for their departure. They have demon- 
strated the possibility of union on the Bible by an actual 
union, not for an hour, a day, a week, or a year, but for- 
ever. 

"We are all getting on very well if you would let us 
alone," says a man. Suppose you look over the ground 
once in your life and see how well you are getting on. 
In the country towns and villages, numbering from one 
to ten thousand inhabitants, they average from five to ten 
churches, or that many parties. They then need from 
five to ten meeting-houses. If they were united they would 
only need from one to two meeting-houses. Here, then, at 
the outset, four-fifths of the money spent in building meet- 
ing-houses is wasted, or worse than wasted — given to main- 
tain these divisions. This is wasting the Lord's money for 
which, as his stewards, we shall give an account. But this 
is only the beginning. Instead of from one to two preach- 



324 UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 

ers in each of these towns, which would be all they would 
need if they were all united, they now need from five to 
ten. Here four-fifths of the money given to sustain preach- 
ers is thrown away, or worse, given to sustain partyism. 
Then four-fifths of all the expense of furniture, fuel, lights, 
etc., in running these establishments, is also wasted in main- 
taining these divisions. Then, when you have all this ex- 
pense, instead of these parties laboring to turn sinners to 
the Lord, the general effort all round is to convert people 
to our party. Sensible men of the world listen to their 
general Babel, their confusion of tongues, crying " Lo ! here, 
and lo ! there," and turn away in disgust into unbelief. The 
Lord saw all this when he prayed that they might be one, 
that the world might believe. 

But you say "we are all getting along well enough if we 
were let alone." But please look again. A preacher was 
once invited to a house. Entering the apartment, the gen- 
tleman of the house introduced the preacher to his wife. 
As the preacher took the lady by the hand, he inquired of 
the gentleman, " Is your good wife a member of any 
church?" He replied that she was, naming the church, 
and at the same time pointing in the direction of the meet- 
ing-house. " And," continued the preacher, " are you a 
member of church ? " He replied that he was, naming the 
church, and pointing toward the meeting-house, but in an 
opposite direction from the house where his wife attended. 
He was then introduced to two daughters, and, on inquiry, 
learned that they belonged to another church. On being 
introduced to two sons, and, inquiring, he learned that one 
of them belonged to still a different church from any of the 
others, and that the other one did not believe any of it, nor 
the Bible. Look at this family when the Lord's day 
comes. The husband starts in one direction, the wife in 
another, the daughters in a third direction, and one son in 



UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 325 

a fourth direction, and the other son goes to no church, 
but reads Tom Paine's infidel book, falsely styled the " Age 
of Reason." Do you call this " getting along well enough? " 
But the preacher inquired of this man, " How do you get 
along in this condition of things?" Drawing a long breath 
he replied, " Tolerably well." Said the preacher, " How ? " 
"Well," said the gentleman, "I belonged to my church 
when we married, and when my wife went over here and 
joined her church, it hurt my feelings very much, and I 
determined to talk to her, but on attempting to do so, I 
soon found that we would hurt each other's feelings, and 
we agreed to disagree and say no more about it." He also 
gave a similar history about his daughters and his son. 
The preacher then said to him, " I presume you never com- 
mune with your own wife." He replied, " I never did." 
The preacher continued, " You do not then fellowship your 
own wife?" This was hard, but, clearing up his voice, he 
answered faintly, "No, sir." Turning to the wife the 
preacher said, "And you, madam, do not fellowship your 
own husband ? " She said she did not. The preacher con- 
tinued to the husband, " Do you not think your wife is a 
Christian?" "I do," said he, seeming to find much relief 
in saying it. "And do you not, madam, believe your hus- 
band is a Christian?" " I certainly do," said she. "Then," 
pressingly inquired the preacher, " why did you never com- 
mune together?" The husband replied, "It is contrary to 
the rules of our church." Who made these " rules of our 
church?" inquired the preacher. "Our great and good 
men," was the reply. " Great and good men," said the 
preacher, " made rules of our church forbidding the Chris- 
tian husband and Christian wife to commune together! 
God joined together this Christian husband and Christian 
wife, and said, i Let not man put them asunder/ but these 
'rules of our church/ made by uninspired men, have come 



326 UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 

in and put them asunder in the kingdom of God, where 
they should be more completely one than anywhere else! 
From this day forward I will put forth every power of my 
soul and body to abolish all these uninspired rules, and blot 
them out forever." On what ground does this family pro- 
pose to get along agreeably? Simply on the ground of 
keeping their lips sealed and saying nothing about religion. 
Never was the great enemy of God and man better pleased 
than when he succeeded in closing the lips of this whole 
family and excluding all talk about the name of Jesus Christ 
and the kingdom of God. 

"How are we to obviate the difficulty?" some one in- 
quires. As in the following case : A preacher was invited 
to a house where the husband belonged to one church and 
the wife to another. Being seated in the parlor, the hus- 
band and wife near by, the preacher was trying to say a 
few words to interest a sweet little daughter of theirs of 
six or seven years. It came into his mind that he might 
turn it to some practical account, and he inquired of the 
child, "When you grow up to be a woman, do you intend 
to join your mother's church?" The child looked toward 
her father with deep concern, but made no reply. He then 
inquired, " Do you intend to join your father's church ? " 
The child showed more feeling, but made no answer, look- 
ing toward her mother. He then pressed in another form : 
" "Which church do you intend to join, your father's or 
your mother's ? " The child stood with its eyes filled with 
tears, but made no answer. The preacher then appealed to 
the father and mother to tell why the child did not answer, 
but they made no reply. The reason it did not answer was 
obvious. If it joined its mother's church, it had to leave 
its father. If it joined its father's church, it had to leave 
its mother. It would not entertain the idea of doing either. 
The preacher then made his appeal to the father and mother : 



UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 327 

" Do you intend to keep this stumbling-block in the way of 
your child, and thus keep it out of the Church, or will you 
not unite on the Bible and remove it out of the way ? " In 
an evening or two after, when an invitation was given, the 
husband walked into the partition in the pews and beckoned 
to the wife to come to him. She instantly came, and he 
extended his hand and said, " I have come to offer you my 
hand to unite on the Bible." She did not Avait more than 
a moment till she took his hand and said, " The Lord help- 
ing me, I will go with you." ^They immediately came for- 
ward and united on the Bible. The daughter can now go 
with both father and mother, and, above all, according to 
the will of God. Here is the ground on which all Chris- 
tians can unite without any sacrifice of truth or conscience. 
There is not a reason in the world why every husband and 
wife, parent and child, brother and sister, may not come on 
the same ground. 

" You are too exclusive, talking about the Bible as if no- 
body else had a right to it." That is not the style of Chris- 
tians. The Bible is for you as much as for any body, and 
the argument is to induce you to adopt it, and avail yourself 
of all the blessings and advantages contained in it. They 
are for you, and you should not deprive yourself of that 
which the Lord intended for you and cut yourselves off 
from it. When you unite on the Bible, that does not de- 
prive any other man from uniting on it. This is the highest 
ground a man can take. No man can go above it, nor be- 
yond it. To go back to the apostles and first Christians, 
receive the Gospel, the whole Gospel, and nothing but the 
Gospel ; believe it with all the heart, follow its holy teaching 
faithfully and honestly in all things, is the highest ground 
man can take, the best that can be done. The effort to do 
this is simply an effort to return to the Lord, take him as 
the great leader in all things, learn of him, and make the 



328 UNION OF CHRISTIANS. 

best effort in the power of honest men and women to do his 
will in all things. Ask them what they are, and they reply, 
Christians, disciples of Christ. To what church do you be- 
long ? The Church of God, or body of Christ. What creed 
have you? The law of God. Who is the founder of your 
church ? The Lord is the founder of his Church, of which 
all Christians are members. Who is your leader? The 
Lord from heaven, 

There is no getting above this ground. If a man leaves 
it, he leaves God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the saints, the 
Bible, the Church of God, and leaves off being a Christian. 
He becomes an apostate.^ 

The precise thing for the people of God to do is to keep 
our Lord before the people, his Gospel and teaching, his 
cause and kingdom, and nothing else. The issue is not 
about men, nor about the teaching of men, but about Christ, 
his Gospel and teaching. Those who are for Christ, his 
Gospel and teaching, his cause and kingdom, and nothing 
else, are to stand out and make themselves known. They 
are on the one side, and form the one army. Those for any 
thing else, no matter what, with all those who are indiffer- 
ent, or for nothing, are on the other side, in one awful, 
confused, and motley group, under the one leader, " that old 
serpent, the devil and Satan," arrayed against the u right 
way of the Lord." On their side there is no scruple about 
means and appliances. They are for any thing that will 
militate against the government of God, the union of saints, 
and the salvation of man. The cause of the army of the 
Lord, the redeemed hosts of the true Israel of God, is the 
cause of righteousness, and no means but righteous means 
can be employed. The work the Lord has now committed 
to the hands of his people is a great work. The responsi- 
bility is on them. They must see to it that their work is 
done, and well done. 



UNION OF CHRISTIANS 329 

Let every saint be true to the Lord and his cause, and 
ultimately receive the crown of righteousness that fades not 
away. O, that they all may be one ! that the world may 
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living 
God! 



28 



SERMON, No. XIV. 

THEME.-A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 

Commencing Acts viii : 26, a report is found of the con- 
version of the distinguished officer of state, the treasurer of 
Queen Candace. The title given to this book, in the com- 
mon version of the New Testament, is incorrect. It is not 
the Acts of the Apostles, but only some acts, or transactions, 
of some apostles. Even "Acts of Apostles" imparts but 
feebly what is contained in it. This book is a history, by 
Luke, an evangelist of the Christ, of the election of Matthias 
to supply the vacancy occasioned by the apostasy and fall 
of Judas ; the descent of the Holy Spirit ; the endowment of 
the apostles with supernatural power, to guide them into 
all truth, in performing the great work of their mission; 
the first preaching, conversions, founding churches, setting 
them in order, visiting and encouraging them. In this 
book are found brief reports of preaching of apostles and 
first evangelists ; and, from these reports, in a goodly degree, 
we were to learn what was preached, and how to preach. 
When these reports are taken together and summed up, the 
amount of apostolic preaching is found in them. The length 
and breadth, the height and depth, of what is found here is 
what is to be preached now to convert and save sinners. 
To these reports the man who wants to know what to 

(331) 



332 A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 

preach and how to preach must go. To these reports 
the man who w r ants to know what the apostles preached 
and how they preached must go. To these reports of apos- 
tolic and evangelical preaching, and conversions under 
that preaching, must men go to learn how men and women 
were converted. Here must they go to ascertain pre- 
cisely what was preached to sinners, what effect it had 
on them, what they believed, what they were commanded 
to do, what it was to be done for, and what the Lord 
would do for them. 

Here is the divine pattern for all preaching, in matter 
and manner, the pattern of all conversions, the example 
that occurred under the eyes of the apostles, with their 
direction and sanction. The preacher who is free, and has 
no purpose only to preach the Gospel precisely as it was 
preached at the first, and maintain it, will examine all the 
preaching reported in Acts, in all its parts, and maintain 
it. He does not have to inquire what this man or that 
man says, but continually inquires what the Lord says, 
what the apostles say, and what they did. With him that 
is authority. The examples, of which he finds record in 
Acts of Apostles, are divine precedents with him. Every 
item he finds here he treasures up. What was preached 
once must be preached all the time. What men and 
women believed at that time, and in one instance, must be 
believed in every instance and at any other time. "What 
they had to do in any one instance to become Christians 
had to be done in all instances. 

The preacher bound up in some human system, so that 
he can not plant himself on the Lord's commission to his 
apostles, and follow the apostles as they went forth under 
that commission, learn and re-preach precisely what they 
preached, and who can not, when sinners inquire ""What 
shall we do?" give the precise answer given by the apostles 



A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 333 

when the same question was propounded to them, in the 
same words, is not a free man, but is in spiritual bondage. 
It is, nevertheless, a lamentable truth, that a large propor- 
tion of the religious teachers of these times are thus bound 
up. There is but one body of people in this country 
among whom the preacher of the Gospel can stand up 
boldly, plant himself squarely on the commission which 
the Lord gave to the apostles, declare openly and indepen- 
dently that he will follow the apostles and preach pre- 
cisely what they preached in all things — that men and 
women must now believe precisely what persons believed 
in the time of the apostles, do the same things and for the 
same purpose, in order to become Christians or to be saved, 
and when they come to the question "What shall we do?" 
give the answer in the precise words of the apostle. How 
a man must feel straightened when he preaches to sinners 
till they are penitent and cry out "What must we do?" 
and is so tied up and bound that he dare not give an 
answer to this vital question in the very words of the in- 
spired apostle and maintain that it is right! Yet thou- 
sands of men are thus tied up in spiritual bondage, and 
some of these think they are considerable men and free, 
but they never knew what it was to draw one free and 
spiritual breath. 

In all kindness and with the utmost good feeling, per- 
mit an example or two to be introduced. Let a Baptist 
preacher take for his text the last commission given to 
the apostles, and tell his audience that he will, by the 
blessing of God, follow the apostles as they proceeded un- 
der that commission. Suppose him to follow up to the 
sermon of Peter on Pentecost, proceed honestly and faith- 
fully to present every thing contained in the discourse of 
Peter, and, at the close, some in his audience cry out " What 
shall we do?" and he honestly and fairly proceeds, in the 



334 A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE. OF CONVERSION. 

very language of the inspired apostle, u Repent, and be bap- 
tized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for 
the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the 
Holy Spirit." Suppose he would thus proceed on through 
Acts, and present what was preached in every case, and the 
inspired answer, how long would he be received as a sound 
Baptist preacher? Not a month. The same is true in the 
Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church, and every 
other church, except the one before alluded to. That "one 
body," "the body of Christ," requires a man to plant him- 
self on our Lord's commission, follow the apostles, preach 
precisely what the apostles preached, and nothing else. 
When sinners inquire what they shall do, that body re- 
quires the precise words in answer to that inquiry to be 
given, and nothing else. It requires the " right way of the 
Lord" to be set forth, and no other, aud requires the con- 
verts to walk in it. 

It is delightful to stand in the "one body," looking to 
the one great Head of the Church, then, with no human 
system in the way, nor fear of man, when about to give 
the example reported, commencing Acts viii : 26. The 
points to be considered in the investigation of this case 
are the following : 

1. "What did the angel of the Lord do in the case? 

2. "What did the Holy Spirit do in the case ? 

3. What did the preacher of Jesus do ? 

4. What did the officer do himself? 

5. What did God do for him? 

These are all plain matters of inquiry, and the young 
men and women should be able to explain them to the 
children in the Sunday-school, as parents should to their 
children at home. But several things should be observed 
before proceeding with the examination, such as the follow- 
ing : 1. If there shall be any thing founil in this case, on 



A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 335 

careful examination, not agreeing with any man's views or 
practice now, no one here is to blame for it. This case 
occurred before any one of this generation came into the 
world. Any one, then, differing from what is found in this 
case, must make his objection to the record made by Luke, 
or to the manner in which Philip the evangelist transacted 
his part, and not to any one now living. 2. The case is 
taken, in this discourse, as it is found on the sacred record, 
and assumed to be right. Therefore, no effort is here made 
to prove any part of the transaction to be right, but the case 
is taken as an authoritative example, so far as the conversion 
is concerned. 

1. What did the angel of the Lord do? He did not di- 
rectly do any thing to the man to be converted. He did 
not go to the man to be converted, nor did he preach to 
him the Gospel ; nor yet did he appear to him in a dream, 
a voice, some mysterious sight or sound. What, then? 
Why not go to him and preach the Gospel ? The Lord did 
not call nor send angels to preach the Gospel, but commit- 
ted that work to men. He ordained that men should be in- 
strumental in saving men. The angel went to the preacher 
— to Philip, an evangelist — and had but a brief message for 
him. He simply said to him, " Rise, and go toward the 
south, to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, 
which is desert." This was the sum of the angel's mission 
in the case, so far as the record informs us. There is, too, 
something beautiful in the simple-hearted obedience of this 
ancient preacher. There were several points which preach- 
ers generally want some light on, left entirely in the dark, 
after the angel had delivered his entire message. Such 
points as the following would occupy the mind of most 
preachers to some extent: Why send me down a way that 
is desert? Why not send me to some populous town, large 
city, and into the midst of the people? Then, there was no 



336 A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 

light on another subject that sometimes comes into the 
minds of preachers. There was no light about the pay, 
who will foot the bill, pay the expenses of the tour, and the 
laborer for work done. On these points there was no light. 
Then there was no instruction what was to be done down 
that way. The Lord assumes absolute authority over his 
servant] and orders him to the spot where he has use for 
him, without informing him what he is to do. The servant 
of the Lord has to take it for granted that his Master un- 
derstands his business, will order him to the right place, 
and find the work for him. He, therefore, gives him the 
order to go. There is no intimation of his hesitating a mo- 
ment, asking a question, or, in any way, taking any concern 
on himself about what was to be done, or the consequences. 
" He rose and went." This is an example of most implicit 
obedience on the part of the preacher. This ends all the 
angel had to do with the matter. When his work was done, 
the man to be converted was not touched. Not an impres- 
sion is made on him. He put the preacher in the way 
leading to the work to be done. 

2. What did the Spirit do? He did not enter the man 
to be converted, go to him, preach to him, immediately im- 
press him, change his heart, or convert him. He did not 
impress the man to be converted in a dream, in a strange 
noise or sight. Immediately, he did nothing to him in the 
way of regenerating him, or any thing of the kind. What, 
then, was his part of the work ? As the officer approaches 
in his chariot, reading the prophetic Scriptures — the 
preacher, up to this point, not knowing that he is to have 
any thing to do with the officer, or that he had reached his 
divinely-intended work — the Spirit of the Lord said to 
Philip, " Join yourself to this chariot." This was an influ- 
ence of the Spirit not easily mistaken. It was in open day. 
It was not an intelligible and unintelligible operation that 



A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 337 

took effect in the flesh, and reached the understanding through 
the sense of feeling, but an intelligible utterance, in clear 
words, distinctly heard, understood, remembered, reported, 
and incorporated in Luke's narrative, entitled Acts of Apos- 
tles. It impressed him that he should join the chariot, or, 
in modern style, made him feel like joining the chariot; but 
the feeling came from the knowledge of the requirement to 
join the chariot, but the knowledge of the requirement did 
not come from the feeling. The requirement came to the 
understanding embodied in intelligible words, and the feel- 
ing followed, resulting from the knowledge. This was the 
part directly performed by the Spirit, not on the man to be 
converted, but in bringing his conversion about. His part 
of the work was like that of the angel, not in changing the 
officer's heart, taking away his sins, or preaching the Gospel 
to him, but in bringing the man, whom the Lord had sent 
to preach to him, in contact with him. This the Spirit did 
by words. 

3. What did the preacher do? Before this matter is 
attended to, a curiosity, a strange thing demands attention. 
An officer of state, in great authority, having charge of 
the treasure of the Queen Candace, as he journeys, is seen 
reading the Scriptures! Though this occurred eighteen 
centuries back, it has novelty about it to any one of our 
time. What ! you are ready to inquire, an officer of state, 
of immense power and distinction, reading the Scriptures ? 
That is not the kind of reading indulged in by officers of 
state now. They glance over the political news, then pass 
over some cunningly-devised and artfully-conceived tale of 
law, of disappointment or triumph, of achievement or fail- 
ure. True, there are some honorable exceptions, but they 
are the exceptions, not the rule. This man was not only 
reading the Scriptures, but the most appropriate scripture in 
the holy volume for him, the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. 
29 



338 A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 

Shall it be said that he was accidentally reading this scrip- 
ture, or was it not providential? At any rate, he was 
reading the following most graphic prophetic description: 
" Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows : 
we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised 
for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was on him ; 
and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have 
gone astray ; we have turned every one to his own way ; and 
the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was 
oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth : 
he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep be- 
fore the shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. He 
was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall 
declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land 
of the living : for the transgression of my people was he 
stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and 
with the rich in his death ; because lie had done no violence, 
neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the 
Lord to bruise him ; he hath put him to grief: when thou 
shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, 
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall 
prosper in his hand." This wonderful description, written 
seven hundred and fifty years before its fulfillment, is almost 
as graphic and full as the historical account of the same 
matters given by Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. As 
Philip approached him and found him reading this prophecy, 
he said to him, " Do you understand what you are read- 
ing?" He replied, "How can I understand unless some 
man guide me?" He invited the preacher to a seat with 
him, which was accepted, and the chariot moved on. 

This preacher was emphatically a Gospel preacher. Had 
he been of the type of some, getting into company with a 
distinguished officer of state, he would have taken the op- 






A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 339 

portunity to have shown that he, too, was posted and deeply- 
interested in matters of state, and they would have had a 
fine discussion of the civil affairs of the world. The officer 
would have seen that the preacher was more under the influ- 
ence of the kingdoms of this world than the kingdom of 
God ; of the flesh than of the Spirit. But the preacher sent 
of God was not of that kind. He was a preacher of Jesus, 
and his soul was full of love to God and to his race. He 
hail a divine mission, loved it, and did not forget it when 
an opportunity was afforded to do the work of his Divine 
Master. He immediately proceeded with his grand work 
without waiting for meeting-house, pulpit, or a great audi- 
ence; nor did he wait to prepare a sermon, to write it out, 
or read it, but " begun at the same scripture, and preached 
to him Jesus." He did not preach to him his opinion about 
Jesus, his views about Jesus, or the views of his brethren, 
but preached to him Jesus. How was that done? It was 
done as Moses was read. Reading Moses was reading the 
writings or the law of Moses. Preaching Jesus is preaching 
the Gospel, or the good news of Jesus. It is not preaching 
some man's opinion of the Gospel, nor proving some man's 
opinion by the Gospel, or some creed, doctrine, or command- 
ment of men, nor preaching about the Gospel, but preach- 
ing the Gospel itself — nothing else. It is complete in itself, 
the thing to be preached, the wisdom of God and the power 
of God. 

This was the theme the preacher had in his heart, and the 
theme that dwelt on his lips, as he discoursed to the officer 
of the Queen Candace. He opened and begun at the scrip- 
ture the officer was reading, and showed him, no doubt, 
that the language oi' the prophet referred to had its fulfill- 
ment in Jesus of Nazareth, and the transactions connected 
with his trial and crucifixion recently in Jerusalem. He 
had no modern doctrines to preach nor prove. All he had 



340 A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 

to do was to bring his Lord before the officer and convince 
him that he was the promised Messiah — that he had come 
and fulfilled the prediction of the prophet. This work he 
did. 

4. What did the officer do ? He did not say he could not 
do any thing, nor did the preacher tell him that he could 
do nothing. The only way to ascertain correctly all about 
it is to follow the record carefully. The historian says: 
" As they went on their way, they came to a certain water : 
and the officer said, See, here is water: what hinders my 
being immersed?" This is an important inquiry. It 
opens the way for looking round in many directions. Xo 
man of intelligence can avoid thinking what would have 
been the reply if some preacher of the present time had 
been there instead of Philip. One sort would have brought 
him before a church to tell an experience, and give evidence 
that his sins were pardoned and he had obtained a hope, 
before he could have been immersed. Another class would 
have proposed to put him on six months' trial, and, if he 
proved faithful and " got religion," he could then be " bap- 
tized by immersion" if he desired it. But the unsophisti- 
cated Philip knew no such supplements, amendments, or 
improvements on the Lord's method of justification, but 
proceeded in a way divinely adapted to man, saying, " If 
you believe with all your heart, you may." When the 
officer heard this, without hesitation, he told Philip what he 
believed. Said he, " I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the 
Son of God." 

Do you say "It is a great matter to believe with all the 
heart" It certainly is, and no other kind of belief is of 
any value. "I thought you made a bare assent of the 
mind, faith, and all the faith required," says one. In that 
you have been misled by misrepresentations and false state- 
ments. No man of intelligence ever taught that the Lord 






A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 341 

would receive any person to the ordinance of immersion, or 
to himself in any way, on the bare assent of the mind. The 
requirement of the Lord is to believe with all the heart. 
But what is the meaning of that? It is the cordial, free, 
full, and cheerful assent to the grand proposition, that 
" Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God." It is like this : You 
are in distress. A small amount of money will relieve you. 
You see two men of your acquaintance standing together, 
and apply to one, asking for the amount required to relieve 
you. He listens to you, is slow to answer, and finally, but 
evidently reluctantly, replies, " I suppose I can let you have 
the amount." You see that it is not free, cordial, nor cheer- 
ful — that he would rather not do it, and that if another 
ounce were on the other end of the scale, he would not. 
That is the bare assent of the mind — no more. But the 
other man advances toward you, with an earnest look, and 
says, "Sir, I will let you have the amount you need with 
all my heart." Who can fail to see the difference? It is no 
bare assent of the mind in this latter case, but a cordial, 
free, and cheerful thing. He enters into the act with his 
heart. It does him good to do it. 

How can there be an intelligent human being who can 
not, on becoming acquainted with the evidence, cordially, 
most freely and cheerfully, or, which is the same, with the 
whole heart or affections, believe that Jesus is the Christ, 
the Son of God? We are in a world of uncertainty, and 
liable in a single moment to be hurried out of it. Jesus is 
the soul of the Bible, the center, the grand embodiment of 
it. On him it all rests. To deny him is to deny it all. 
He is the light of the world, the way, the truth, and the 
life. Set him aside, and not one ray of light penetrates be- 
yond the grave. All your friends who passed away from 
this world are covered in eternal darkness. When you 
shall sink into the grave, eternal night will brood over you. 



342 A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 

Not one ray of light have you, if you reject Jesus, in refer- 
ence to all that have died. They have gone into an eternal 
oblivion. Well may you, then, with all your heart or affec- 
tions, press the faith of Christ to your soul. "If you be- 
lieve with all your heart, you may." "I believe," re- 
plied the officer, "that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of 
God." On this grand fundamental and sublime statement 
the man of God received him to the obedience of the faith. 
The historian says, " He commanded the chariot to stand 
still; and they went down both into the water, both Philip 
and the officer; and he immersed him." Owing to the cap- 
tious, perverted, and caviling spirit of these times, some 
things must be noticed here that would not, under other cir- 
cumstances, demand any attention. Some men, whose busi- 
ness it appears to be to darken counsel, instead of opening the 
way for the clear light to shine, and who yet claim to be 
called and sent to preach, have, in numerous instances, said 
that they could not tell from this history which one baptized 
the other. To this it may be replied, that if any man hi 
little mind that he can not tell, after making an honest trial, 
which one baptized the other, he is simply not a subject of 
religion. Preaching can not do him any good. If any one 
who can easily see which immersed the other, still trie - to 
blind the weak and ignorant, by saying he can not tell, he is 
too insincere and nncandid to have any thing to do with any 
appointment of God. When one man inquires what hinders 
that he may not be immersed, and another informs him of 
the terms on which he may be immersed, and the history 
explains- that the terms were complied with on hi-; part, and 
"he immersed him," and a man persists in saying that he 
can not tell which one immersed the other, it is useless to 
waste time in talking with him. A man must have in him 
a good and honest heart before he hears the word. The offi- 
cer inquired, "What hinders that 1 may not be immersed?' 1 



A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 343 

Philip says, " If you believe with all your heart, you may." 
He answers, "I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son 
of God." Giving the attending circumstances, the history 
says "and he immersed him." There is no such thing as 
misunderstanding which one immersed the other. 

But now attention must be given to the circumstances 
attending the case, and the peculiarity of the narrative. 
There is something very peculiar in this little piece of his- 
tory. The Divine Spirit of all wisdom and all revelation 
appears to have looked down through eighteen long centu- 
ries and seen the little cavilers and caviling of these times, 
and to have employed such a class of terms and so arranged 
them as to leave no possible room for mistake. Open your 
book and look at the passage : " And they came to a certain 
uater." Where does that place them? "To a certain 
water," or "unto" it, as it is in the common version, is 
at the water, to the edge of the water. What followed 
after they were to the water, or at it? The history pro- 
ceeds : "They went down." In giving a common history, 
this word "down" is not strictly necessary, for they could 
not have gone into the water without going down* Who 
went down? "Both Philip and the officer." In a simple 
narrative the word "both" is not necessary. The word 
"they," used just before it, included both. Bu< after this 
apparent redundancy, to be still more descriptive, and to put 
caviling out of the question, he adds the words "Philip and 
the officer." Why all this particularity? Evidently to put 
honest mfsunderstanding out of the question entirely. They 
came to the water first, then went down into the water. 
Poes some one say, that "into" only means to or at the 
water? That can not be, tor they had already come to the 
water, and were at it, after which they went. Went where, 
after they were io the water, or at it? "They both went 
down into the water." They were already at the water; to 



344 A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 

it before they advanced beyond that point, or "both went 
down into the water." This placed them in advance of 
where they were — at the water or to it — which advanced 
position was "down into the water." They were now in 
the right position for the performance of the act which the 
Lord commanded. 

The commandment was not obeyed when they had gone 
" down into the water." What they had gone through was 
preliminary and necessary to the performance of the act 
commanded. Some little things must be noticed here, see- 
ing that little men sometimes darken counsel with them. 

1. It has been said that there was no water of conse- 
quence there — not more than a quart or two at the outside. 
How this precise information is obtained can not be ex- 
plained here. But one thing is certain, and that is, that 
Luke's statement is true, that "they both went down into 
the water;" but they did not both go down into a bowl, cup, 
a quart, or a gallon of water, nor do sensible people think 
they did. This needs no argument. 

2. "But there was no water in the desert." That can 
not be, for they came to "a certain water." The man who 
does not believe the narrative needs no baptism, nor is he 
a fit subject for baptism. It is faith that he needs. He 
must become a believe)' before he has any thing to do with 
baptism. The atlases teach falsely if there is no water there, 
for they were in the course of a stream of water more than 
a hundred miles in length, including its windings. Do you 
say "It was a water that went dry at some seasons of the 
year?" No matter if it was. It was not dry at the time 
the event in question occurred, or they could not have gone 
"down into the water," nor "come up out of the water," as 
the history says they did if there had been no water there. 

3. "But the apostles could not have immersed three 
thousand in one day/' says an objector. What is to be 



A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 345 

argued from that? The assumptions run as follows: 
1. That none but preachers could have immersed. This 
can not be proved, but stands as an unsupported assumption, 
and can not be reasoned from as a settled matter. 2. There 
were no preachers present but the apostles. This is another 
unsupported assumption for which there is no proof. A 
short time before this the Lord had sent out seventy preach- 
ers besides the apostles. It is not in argument to be as- 
sumed that none of these were present on Pentecost, and 
reasoned from as a settled point. 3. It is assumed that the 
apostles could not have immersed the three thousand in the 
given time. This assumption not only can not be proved, 
but can be clearly demonstrated to be false. The apostles 
alone could have immersed the whole three thousand in 
three hours. 4. It is, then, assumed that, as immersion was 
impossible, the three thousand must have been sprinkled. 
But this by no means follows. There is no sprinkling in all 
this. The only thing attempted is to find something op- 
posed to immersion. That is not done; but if it were, 
there would be nothing in it for sprinkling. There is 
nothing in all that about sprinkling at all. Sprinkling is 
entirely out of the question. Independently of all that, 
sprinkling must be found and proved. There is not one 
word about sprinkling for baptism in the Bible, or in any 
thing written in the first three centuries. 

What was the precise thing done while Philip and the 
officer were both in the water? In the common version it 
says "He baptized him." What does that mean? It does 
not say, he baptized water on him. It is a noticeable thing 
that we never read of baptizing water. The element used 
in baptizing is not the subject of the action, no matter 
whether it be water, fire, sufferings, or Spirit. We never 
read of baptizing water, Spirit, fire, or sufferings on any 
person or thing. Where water is the element, and sprink- 



346 A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 

ling is the action, the water is sprinkled on the subject. 
The same is true where pouring is the action. The Spirit 
was poured out, but not baptized. The persons were bap- 
tized, but not " poured out." Philip did not pour him out, 
but " baptized him." 

Some modern teachers of religion, who draw more on 
their imaginations than on the authority of Scripture, have 
discovered, or thought they discovered, that the officer got 
the idea of being baptized from the expression " so shall he 
sprinkle many nations," in the last verse of the chapter 
preceding the one which he was reading. True, in the 
common version of the Old Testament we find the word 
" sprinkle," but the officer was not reading the common 
version, but, in all probability, the Greek Septuagint, which 
does not contain the Greek word for sprinkle in the pas- 
sage, nor any word meaning sprinkle, nor is there any 
thing about baptism in the passage in any translation or the 
original. It is simply "He shall astonish many nations." 
There is nothing about sprinkling or baptizing in the pas- 
sage. The officer did not, therefore, find baptism in this 
reading, unless he found it where it was not, like our mod- 
ern divines. He learned, in one of two ways, that he must 
be baptized. 

1. He may have learned while in Jerusalem that all who 
became Christians were baptized. 

2. In preaching Jesus, or the Gospel of Jesus, Philip 
may have preached it to him. No matter in which of these 
ways he learned it, the information was right. 

AVe find, now, that he went clown into the water, and, 
after the act in question, "they came up out of the water." 
What, then, did he do £b him when "he baptized him?" 
This question can not be examined here carefully, but a few 
things may be set forth in a few words. There would have 
been no difficulty here had not the w r ord "baptize" been 



A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 347 

left untranslated. It is a Greek word, and when it is cor- 
rectly translated, the thing done is so clearly set forth that 
no one can misunderstand. It is simply "he immersed 
him." There is no misunderstanding that. But the mere 
English reader is ready to say "How shall I know that 
your statement is correct ? " By the following : 

1. All admit that "baptize" is a Greek word. 

2. There is lio translation, no matter by whom made, in 
which it is rendered sprinkle or pour. 

3. No scholar maintains that baptize should be translated 
sprinkle or pour. 

4. No lexicon in common use defines baptize to mean 
sprinkle or pour. 

5. There is not a trace of sprinkling or pouring for bap- 
tism in any thing written in the first two centuries, in the 
Bible or any other book. 

6. There is not a more clearly established fact in history 
than that immersion was invariably practiced for the initi- 
atory rite during the first two centuries. 

7. There is not a more clearly established fact in history 
than that, after sprinkling or pouring came into use in case 
of weakness or sickness, that it was not regarded as regular 
baptism; but the subjects of it were not permitted to hold 
any office in the church. 

8. The change from immersion to sprinkling or pouring 
is clearly admitted in all the authorities of any note. 

9. Immersion was invariably practiced by all Christians, 
except the cases of weakness already alluded to, for the first 
thirteen hundred years. 

10. Luther, Calvin, and Wesley admit that immersion 
was the original practice. The Romish and Greek Churches 
admit this. 

11. The Greek Church, which has always spoken the 
Greek language, has immersed from its origin. 



348 A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 

12. It makes sense to read immerse for baptize in every 
instance where it occurs. It does not make sense to read 
sprinkle or pour. 

13. The figurative allusions to baptism, such as " buried 
with him in baptism/' "born of water," "planted together 
in the likeness of his death," are admitted by all the authori- 
ties of any note to refer to the original rite — immersion. 

14. Changes from the appointments of God are seldom 
from the easier to the more difficult, but are almost invari- 
ably from the more difficult and unpleasant to that which 
is easy and pleasant. 

15. It is a notorious matter of fact, that but few if any 
w T ho have been immersed, on a confession of their faith in 
Christ, ever doubt the validity of their baptism. Those who 
have received sprinkling for baptism frequently doubt the 
validity of their baptism, and can not rest till they are im- 
mersed. 

16. Persons in their last and most solemn moments, in 
the immediate expectation of death, frequently distrust the 
validity of their sprinkling or pouring for baptism, but no 
one has ever been known to distrust the validity of immer- 
sion, even in the midst of the solemnities of the approach 
of death. 

There is, therefore, no doubt that when they were in the 
water he immersed him. This is precisely what was done, 
and this is precisely what the Lord commands to be done now. 
" Repent and be immersed every one of you, in the name of 
Jesus Christ," is the commandment. 

What lias appeared in the investigation may now be re- 
capitulated, as follows : 

1. The part of the work performed by the angel, in 
bringing about the conversion of the nobleman, was to send 
the preacher down the way leading from Jerusalem to 
Gaza. 



A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 349 

2. The part of the work performed by the Spirit was to 
command the preacher to join himself to the chariot. 

3. The part of the work performed by the preacher was 
to preach Jesus to the officer and immerse him. 

4. The part performed by the officer was to hear the 
preaching, believe it, and yield himself to the Lord. 

The repentance is not mentioned, but was unquestionably 
in its place, as he could not have believed " with all the 
heart" without the repentance. Repentance is present in 
every case. Not a man ever turns to the Lord without re- 
pentance. 

5. The fifth and last part to be considered in this dis- 
course, is what the Lord did for him. This part, like repent- 
ance, is not mentioned in Luke's account, but no one must 
infer from that circumstance that that part of the work was 
omitted, or that the Lord did nothing for him. From other 
parts of the holy record it is clearly seen what the parts 
already found were in order to. He had heard, believed, 
repented, confessed, and been immersed. He passed through 
this process in order to justification or pardon. The Lord 
says, in the great commission, " He who believes and is im- 
mersed, shall be saved.'' This he had done, and thus came 
to the promise — "shall be saved," or pardoned. In accord- 
ance with the promise the Lord granted pardon. This was 
not something done in him, but in heaven for him. It was 
an act of God performed in heaven which freed him from 
all his past sins. This was one thing done by the Lord for 
him — saved him from his sins-. 

Another thing done for him was the impartation of the 
Holy Spirit. The Lord imparted to him the Spirit. This 
is omitted in the history. It is clearly shown to be the case 
from other scriptures. The Gospel opened out with the 
assurance that the Holy Spirit was imparted as widely as 
pardon was granted : " Repent and be immersed every one 



350 A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 

of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins; 
and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 9 ' This 
promise stands connected with pardon at the opening of the 
kingdom, and extends to all who receive remission of sins. 
This promise was, in his case, as in all other cases, fulfilled 
when he yielded to the Gospel of the grace of God. He 
received the Holy Spirit. 

What is the last that is seen of him in the sacred record '? 
It is that " he went on his way rejoicing." What was the 
ground of his joy? Surely there was great reason for joy. 
When Philip met him, he did not know of whom the 
prophet was speaking in the scripture he was reading, 
though the prophet was pointing to the Savior of the world, 
his humiliation, his pouring out his soul even to death, and 
making his soul an offering for sin. JSow he has the mat- 
ter explained to him, that the prophet was speaking of the 
Messiah ; that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah ; that all 
that was described by the prophet was fulfilled in him. He 
believes with all the heart that Jesus is the Christ, the Son 
of God ; has repented, confessed his faith, and been immersed 
into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Spirit. He has thus been adopted into the new-born 
family, received a full, free, and gracious pardon of all past 
sins, and received the spirit of adoption, whereby he can 
call God his Father. Instead of the mazes in which he was 
before Philip preached to him, when he did not know of 
whom the prophet was speaking — whether of himself or 
some other man — he now has the clear understanding that 
he was speaking of the Messiah, of whom all the prophets 
spoke, who had now come in accordance with the prophecies, 
lived the life assigned him, died the death, risen from the 
dead, ascended into heaven, and been crowned Lord of all ; 
that he had sent the Holy Spirit, inspired the apostles, 
enabled them to preach the Gospel, founded the kingdom or 



A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 351 

Church, opened the door, and introduced many thousands into 
the new and living way — nay, more, that he had received 
this faith himself, been translated into the kingdom of God's 
dear Son, made an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ. 
For the first time in his life, he saw that all the light of 
prophecy had culminated in the Messiah, and that the way 
to the Father was not only opened, but that he had entered 
by that way, and was not now simply a son of Abraham 
according to the flesh, but a son by faith, an heir of God, 
and a joint heir with Christ. His sins are to be remem- 
bered no more forever. The Spirit of God has now been 
imparted to him to dwell with him forever. " He went on 
his way rejoicing," as he had great reason to do, and, no 
doubt, carried the joyful tidings to his own country. 

May we expect all these parts connected with every con- 
version now? So far as related to what the officer heard, 
believed, and did, and what the Lord did directly for him, all 
may be expected now. No man need wait for an angel to 
appear to a preacher now, and tell him which road to go to 
find him and preach to him. This part of the case trans- 
pired in the incipient period — the creative period — in which 
the supernatural was necessary in founding, unfolding, and 
confirming the new institution. So far as the work of the 
angel was concerned, it was miraculous, and forms no pre- 
cedent for any other conversion. It may not be expected, 
nor necessary, that an angel of the Lord should appear to a 
preacher and guide him to every man to be converted. So, 
the Spirit of the Lord speaking to Philip, and commanding 
him to join himself to the chariot, was miraculous, and not 
a precedent for every case. The preacher need not now ex- 
pect to hear the Spirit say, " Join yourself to this chariot." 
That was a special act for a special case, in the age of mir- 
acles, and not a precedent in the general law for all cases. 
But the hearing the Gospel, or being in some way brought 



352 A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 

to know it, believe it, repent, confess the faith, and be im- 
mersed into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
the Holy Spirit — the remission of sins, and the impartation 
of the Holy Spirit, belong to all cases of conversion alike. 
Xot one of these items can be omitted in any case. They 
are not each one mentioned, in every case, in the holy 
record. But while every item mentioned in any one case 
really exists in every case, whether mentioned or not, no 
item can ever be omitted mentioned in any one case. For 
instance, in the reference to the commission made by Mark, 
he does not give repentance. He says, " He who believe^ 
and is immersed shall be saved." But that does not prove 
that repentance can be omitted, in any case, in the justiri ca- 
tion of the sinner. In the words of Paul to the jailer, he 
said "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalfc be 
saved." Here repentance and immersion both are omitted. 
That does not prove that they were left out in the case of 
the jailer, for he " took them the same hour of the night 
and washed their stripes, and was immersed, he and all his, 
straightway." In the words of Peter, on Pentecost, faith is 
omitted. He said, " Repent, and be immersed every one of 
you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins ; 
and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." You are 
not to assume, because faith is not mentioned in this case, 
that it was omitted, or that they were saved without faith. 
It was present in their justification and performed its regu- 
lar part, as it does in every other case. The reason Peter 
did not command them to believe was that they already be- 
lieved. He had regard to their position, and commanded 
them not to do what they had done, but what they had not 
done — to repent and be immersed. In the words "the like 
figure whereunto even immersion doth also now save us," 
neither faith nor repentance is mentioned, yet immersion is 
nothing to any one without faith and repentance. 



A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 353 

The conversion of the Ethiopian treasurer, therefore, in 
all that pertained strictly to it, was the same as any other 
conversion, aside from the work of the angel and the Spirit 
in guiding the preacher to and bringing him in contact with 
him. Apart from what the angel said and what the Spirit 
said to Philip, the process was the same as in every other 
case. The work of God, of Christ, of the Holy Spirit, of 
the preacher, and of the man himself, was precisely the same 
as in all other cases. The case forms a divine precedent. 

In the examination it will be found : 

1. That he heard the same Gospel that is the power of 
God to salvation to every other person that believes. 

2. That he believed the same Gospel that all are required 
to believe in order to salvation. 

3. That he repented the same as all others. 

4. That he made the same good confession as others. 

5. That he was pardoned the same as all others who be- 
come Christians. 

6. That the Lord imparted to him the Holy Spirit the 
same as he did to all others on their becoming obedient to 
the faith. 

7. That he had the same ground for rejoicing as existed 
in all other cases of turning to God. 

What remained for him after his turning to the Lord, 
was to be faithful till death ; to be true and loyal to his new 
and glorious Sovereign ; to fight the good fight ; to run the 
race with patience ; to continue in well-doing ; seek for glory, 
and honor, and immortality, in order to the obtaining of 
eternal life. The Lord is reasonable, and what he has laid 
down for us, in order to becoming Christians and living to his 
honor and glory, is clear, easy, and reasonable. If men and 
women are not saved, it will be their own fault. They are 
left without excuse, and have no cloak for their sins. Come, 
then, be persuaded, by all his tender mercies, his love, his 
30 



354 A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE OF CONVERSION. 

goodness and compassion, by his long-suffering and forbear- 
ance, to turn and live. " He is not willing that any should 
perish, but that all should come to repentance." Come, 
then, to him that loved you and gave himself for you, and 
live forever and ever. 



SERMON, No. XY. 

THEME.-THE COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 
Text—" Enter in at the strait gate."— Matt, vii : 13. 

It is a circumstance not to be denied, that immense con- 
fusion exists in the public mind touching the way of salva- 
tion. No matter whether the cause of this confusion can be 
pointed out or not, the fact of its existence can not be denied. 
It is also a fact that many men of good character, fine intel- 
ligence, and who are excellent citizens, are standing aloof 
from all connection with any church, or identification with 
religion in any form. No doubt, a main cause of this is 
that a large amount of the preaching is either insipid, life- 
less, and powerless talk, and nothing more, or wholly unin- 
telligible; so that, on one hand, there is no interest in it, 
and, on the other hand, they can not understand it. No 
matter whether the fact can be accounted for or not, it is a 
fact, and an indisputable fact, that darkness pervades the 
public mind on the very matter of the highest importance 
to man of all others — the way to eternal happiness and re- 
nown. It is useless to try to blur it over, to disguise or 
deny it. There stands the stumbling-block before the 
people. One teaches this way and another that; one says, 
lo here, and another, lo there. Many stand confounded, and 
know not which way to go. 

Turning to the clear teaching of the Savior, the command 

(355) 



356 COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 

is found : " Enter you in at the strait gate ; for wide is the 
gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and 
many there be who go in thereat: because strait is the 
gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and 
few there be that find it." This is a candid and solemn 
warning, and shows that the Lord saw the narrow way in 
which his followers would have to walk to gain everlasting 
life. A speculative man, more interested in some perplex- 
ing question than in regard to his own salvation, and, prob- 
ably, desiring to procure some means of prejudicing the 
public mind against the Lord's teaching, came to the Savior 
and said, " Lord, are there few that be saved ? " The Lord 
gave him a more extended answer than he desired. He 
said : " Strive to enter in at the strait gate : for many, I say 
unto yon, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 
When once the Master of the house is risen up, and hath 
shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to 
knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and 
he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence 
ye are. Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and 
drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 
But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are ; 
depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity." Luke xiii : 
24-27. The Lord warned the people to be on their guard ; 
to be careful and not be deceived. You can not determine 
which is the right way by the multitude walking in a way, 
for many are walking in the broad road, leading to ruin. 
An important reason for being cautious that no mistake be 
made in finding the right way, is that each person is to 
make but one trip. If you were to travel the road many 
times after missing the way once, you might avoid the mis- 
take next time. But we pass over the way but once, and 
if we miss it, the mistake can never be corrected. All should 
make sure work of it, and be certain not to miss the way. 



COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 357 

In the midst, then, of all the confusion of these times, the 
different ways held up to the people, as leading to heaven, is 
there any possible course that a human being can pursue that 
is infallibly safe? The purpose of this discourse is to give 
an affirmative answer to this question — to show that there is 
a course to pursue that is infallibly safe. The labor of this 
discourse will not be to refute those opposed to the positions 
maintained, but to show an honest and humble person what 
course to pursue in the midst of all the confusion of the 
times to be infallibly safe. In order to this end, a few of 
the most serious difficulties existing will be handled and dis- 
posed of in such a way as to show the safe course. 

What, then, is the first difficulty to be encountered? It 
is the difficulty between the infidel and the Christian. A 
man says : " I have read Hume, Voltaire, Volney, Gibbon, 
Paine, etc., and you admit that some of these were, at least, 
men of learning, extended knowledge in antiquity, with 
vast libraries and time for reading; and they maintain 
stoutly, and most determinedly, that the Bible is the work 
of man, and nothing else ; that they have no confidence in it. 
On the other hand, I have read Paley, Watson, Faber, Nel- 
son, Barnes, etc., men of learning, vast knowledge, antiquity, 
immense libraries, with any amount of time for research, and 
they say that the Bible contains a revelation from God, and 
that the man who does not believe it will be condemned. 
Now, if these great and learned men, on each side, can not 
decide the matter, settle the question, and put it beyond 
dispute, how am I ever to decide the matter ? If any means 
were at command by which this difficulty could be made to 
appear more difficult, such means should be employed, as 
the intention is to meet the difficulty itself, and not to de- 
molish a man of straw." 

Now, do not forget the purpose had in view — to show 
what course to pursue to be infallibly safe. To what danger 



358 COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 

is the man exposed who believes the Bible with his whole 
heart, and honestly practices it, in any conceivable event ? 
To say the least, the man who believes the Bible, and prac- 
tices its teaching, is as good as the unbeliever. He is cer- 
tainly as happy. Beyond all dispute, he does as much for 
his race as the unbeliever. So far as this world is con- 
cerned, he is certainly infallibly safe in any possible or con- 
ceivable event. Nor does any man doubt that he is infallibly 
safe so far as the world to come is concerned. Conceive the 
idea, if you please, that, in the final winding up of human 
affairs, it were possible for every thing to turn out as the 
skeptic has argued; the Bible to be entirely of man — as 
Robert Owen argued, all religion founded in ignorance ; to 
what danger is the man who honestly believed and obeyed 
the Bible exposed ? Conceive the possibility, if you please, 
for every thing to turn out finally as skeptics have argued, 
and the Christian to have honestly believed the Bible with 
his whole heart and practiced it faithfully ; to have preached 
it, written it, published it, and advocated it with all the 
power in him, through his entire life, and to have opposed 
infidelity, fought against and done every thing in his power 
to put it down, to what danger will he stand exposed, living 
or dying, in this world or that which is to come? No dan- 
ger of any sort. No man living can show that lie has lost 
any thing that can in any way contribute to greatness, good- 
ness, or happiness in this life, and the skeptic himself will 
not claim that he has endangered himself in reference to the 
life to come. No man of any sort, no matter where he 
stands, nor what he holds, maintains that any great danger 
can befall a man on account of his believing and practicing 
the Bible ; that he is, on this account, in any sense, not safe 
for this world and that which is to come, even if all the 
skeptic claims could, by any conceivable event, prove true. 
If, in the end, he shall find that all he believed concerning 



COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 359 

God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, angels, and men — in one word, 
all he believed about the Bible — to be true, he will be an 
eternal gainer; he will have gained all things. But if you 
conceive the possibility of his being entirely mistaken, and 
the skeptic right in every particular, he is then as safe as 
any skeptic on earth, living and dying, in time and eternity. 
You may confidently defy any skeptic to show that he is not 
infallibly safe in any event. 

But, now, turn round and look at the other side of the 
question. Let the skeptic prove mistaken, and look to the 
consequences of his mistake. He finds himself, in the end, 
standing in opposition to his merciful Creator, Avho has, in 
kindness and compassion, put forth his hand to save him ; 
opposed to his gracious Redeemer, who died for him, and to 
the Bible, intended to guide him to happiness and eternal 
glory. He believed not the God who created him, and the 
Lord who gave himself for him. The sentence is, "He 
who believes not shall be condemned." " He who believes 
not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides 
on him." He knows that his skepticism can not possibly 
make him any better in this life, any more happy; that it 
can not do the world any possible good ; that it has nothing 
in it to elevate, ennoble, and adorn humanity; that it can not 
possibly bring any thing great and good to a single soul of 
the human race ; that it can not civilize, educate, or enlighten 
mankind ; in one word, that its whole tendency is to pull 
down morals, education, and enlightenment in general ; and 
if all it claims could, by any conceivable event, prove true, 
every believer in the Bible would be as safe in all respects 
as he for time and eternity ! Skepticism is an awful ex- 
periment. It is simply taking the risk of losing every thing, 
without the possibility of gaining any thing for this world 
or the world to come. 

It is like this : A father tells his son that he has ten 



360 COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 

thousand dollars to set him out in business; to select a 
business and he will give him the money. The son goes out, 
looks around, and comes home delighted; he has found a 
grand speculation, and calls for the money. The father calls 
for an explanation of the speculation. The young man sets 
it forth with much eloquence and fluency. The father lis- 
tens to him with deep interest, and, when he is through, calls 
his attention to a certain point in the speculation, and in- 
quires what the result would be should he be mistaken at 
said point. The young man's countenance falls. He ad- 
mits that he had not thought of that ; that a mistake there 
would involve the loss of the whole ten thousand dollars. 
In a few minutes the father calls his attention to many 
points, at any one of which a single mistake would involve 
the loss of all his money. His father then turns to the other 
side and inquires for the result, in case there shall be no 
mistake, and finds that the best that can possibly be the re- 
sult, in any event, will be to come out even with the amount 
with which he started in. "What!" says the father, "a 
speculation in which there are many chances to lose every 
thing and no chance to gain any thing ! No, sir ; you can 
not have the money." This is the speculation of skeptics. 
They not only have many chances to lose every thing with- 
out any chance to gain any thing, but are certain to lose all, 
and have no chance to gain any thing in any possible or 
even conceivable event. Well may skeptics say " It is a 
leap in the dark." Shall a man of intelligence make such 
an experiment, take such a risk, when he can be infallibly 
safe? It is infallibly safe to believe the Bible with the 
whole heart and practice its teaching. This no man denies. 
This is indisputable. It would be exceedingly strange if 
that which is infallibly safe were not infallibly correct. 

Why is it that such a large proportion of skeptics, when 
near the close of their lives, or are in the immediate expec- 



COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 361 

tation of death, renounce and repudiate their skepticism? 
Wby does their foundation fail them at the very time when 
they need support more than at any former period ? Why 
is it that, at the gate of death, so many of them renounce 
what had been upon their lips for years? Why is it that 
the most impudent scoffers, bold and ridiculing unbelievers, 
in such large proportions, when they approach the change 
of worlds, repudiate, frequently with their last words, the 
unbelief that had dwelt upon their lips for years? Why 
does the meekest believer in the kingdom of God press his 
frith to his heart the more closely as he approaches death ? 
Why is it that not a man who claimed to believe the Bible, 
while in life and health, ever denied it when he approached 
death? The answer is, that the divine testimony is suffi- 
cient for all confidence, worthy of all acceptation; and the 
human soul, at the hour of dissolution, when it needs sup- 
port, leans on that which is infallibly safe, as also infallibly 
correct. 

It matters not, then, whether you can remove all the 
difficulties skeptics can produce, ans\ver all their questions, 
or understand all their subtleties or not ; they can point the 
honest believer to no danger to which he is exposed, no 
serious consequences that can result from his faith in any 
conceivable event. To believe the Bible, then, and practice 
its teaching is infallibly safe for this world and the world to 
come. 

Does some man reply that this is no refutation of skepti- 
cism ? It does not propose to be, but shows you what course 
to pursue to be infill ibly safe, whether you can refute skep- 
ticism or not, or even whether you can understand it. It 
has nothing in it good for you in any conceivable event, 
whether true or false, and it is useless to trouble your mind 
about it. 

" Well," says a man, " I supposed you could dispose of 
31 



362 COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 

the difficulty so far as skepticism is concerned ; but I have 
a difficulty beyond that. My difficulty is among the 
preachers. For instance, one man says he can prove, clear 
as holy writ, that all mankind will be finally made holy 
and happy; quotes Scripture; talks of Latin, Greek, He- 
brew; of lexicons, concordances, and exegesis. Another 
man argues that l the wicked shall be turned into hell with 
all the nations that forget God/ I find that there are men 
of learning and talent on both sides; men of reading and 
books; and if they can not settle the question, and show 
who is right, I do not see how I am ever to settle it." 

There is not much difficulty in that case. If the man 
was here who says he can prove so clearly that all will be 
saved, it would be well to ask him a few questions, such 
as the following : Do you not admit that all mankind 
ought to believe the Bible and honestly obey its teaching? 
He would reply, Certainly I do. Is not the man who 
believes and obeys the teaching of the Bible as happy as 
any one in this life? He will answer, Certainly he is the 
happiest man in this world. Very well ; will he not be 
happy in the world to come? Undoubtedly he will, he 
will readily reply, for all will be saved in the world to 
come. Then, being yourself the judge, all who believe the 
Bible, and obey its teaching, are infallibly safe for this 
world and that world to come. He will reply, Certainly 
they are. But what if a man does not happen to believe 
the Bible and obey its teachings in this life? He is not 
safe, and no argument can make him safe. He stands on 
doubtful ground, while he might stand on safe ground. 
He takes a risk, while he might have a certainty. He ad- 
mits that all who believe and honestly obey the Bible are 
safe — infallibly safe. This nobody denies. All men can, 
then, believe the Bible and obey its teaching, and thus be 
infallibly safe. Conceive the idea, if you can, that it could 



COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 363 

possibly turn out that all men will be saved, the man who 
believes the Bible and obeys its teaching will be saved. 
Those who believe the Bible and obey it are infallibly safe 
in any conceivable event. 

" But/' says a man, " one preacher says ( God unchange- 
ably foreordains whatever comes to pass/ and that the num- 
ber of the elect is so definite that it can neither be increased 
nor diminished ; ' and another says, Christ died for all, and 
that all can come to Christ and be saved. Now, if those 
preachers themselves can not settle this matter, and show 
who is right, how can I ever decide it?" Suppose you 
never should decide that matter in this life, might you not 
still be happy for this world and that which is to come? 
Explaining these intricate matters, while it may be some 
satisfaction to the curious, will never save one human being. 
It would have been transcendently better for mankind if 
such subtleties had never been started. Men have gotten 
much credit from the people for starting, handling, and 
seeming to know much of such matters, as men of learn- 
ing, depth of thought, and wonderful genius; but they 
have, to an alarming extent, confused the world thereby 
and obstructed the way of salvation. They have involved 
millions of our race in utter confusion. But now, what is 
to be done ? Is there any clear course that can be pursued 
to avoid all this? There certainly is; and that course is 
not to try to settle these intricate questions, nor even thor- 
oughly to understand them. It is much shorter and easier 
than all that. It is obvious that the apostles preached the 
Gospel to all wherever they went. They approved those 
who believed and obeyed, and disapproved those who did 
not believe. The grounds of consideration are various. 
Not more than two need be mentioned now. Unbelief is a 
ground of condemnation : " He who believes not shall be 
condemned." Disobedience is mentioned as a ground of 



364 COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 

condemation : " The Lord will take vengeance on those 
who know not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord 
Jesus Christ." 

The Gospel is, then, the only thing to be preached. It 
is to be preached to all nations for the obedience of faith. 
It is infallibly safe to preach the Gospel to all men, for all 
men to believe it and obey it. In any event this is safe. 
If it could possibly turn out that " God did unchangeably 
ordain whatever comes to pass," and that the number of 
" the elect is so definite that it can neither be increased nor 
diminished," those who believe the Gospel with all their 
heart, and obey it, are certainly as safe as any body. It 
can not possibly make the matter any worse for them to 
have believed and obeyed the Gospel in any event. They 
are infallibly safe in their belief and obedience. Even if 
Calvinism should prove true, and they should turn out non- 
elect, their condition is by no means worsted by their belief 
and obedience. This is infallibly safe for all men : to make 
the best possible effort to know and to do the will of God. 
If this is not safe, there is no safety. We must live and 
die in uncertainty. But it is safe — infallibly safe. The 
strongest Calvinist admits that it is right to preach the 
Gospel to all. It is right for all to believe the Gospel. It 
is right for all to obey the Gospel. There is nobody, who 
believes that the Bible came from God, that does not admit 
that it is risrht to believe and obev its teaching:. This is 
infallibly right, as all admit. That which is infallibly right 
is, beyond all doubt, infallibly safe. 

Another man says : " I have a difficulty beyond all you 
have mentioned, that I know not how to settle. It is this : 
One preacher maintains that baptism is essential to sal- 
vation; another, equally learned, denies it. If learned 
preachers, on each side of this question, can not settle it, 
and thus end the controversy, how am I to decide who 



COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 365 

is right?" That may appear puzzling to a man at first 
thought, but a little reflection will open a clear path to any 
man who is simply looking for a safe course to pursue. 
There is much in shaping questions. The teacher who de- 
sires to keep the public mind clear, states all his positions 
and questions with a view to that end. The man who de- 
sires to mystify, confuse, and perplex the public mind, frames 
his questions and takes his position with a view to that end. 
Now, why should any one discuss the question whether bap- 
tism is essential to salvation? Why not discuss the ques- 
tion whether prayer, the communion, or the contribution is 
essential to salvation? Why discuss the question whether 
any thing the Lord has commanded is essential? All such 
questions have their foundation in disloyalty to the divine 
government. There is a much easier method of investiga- 
tion than this, and more satisfactory. There is no need of 
starting the question whether baptism is essential to salva- 
tion. 

Do you inquire for the simpler and easier way of arriving 
at something satisfactory and safe? Then start with the 
inquiry, Is baptism a commandment of God ? All parties 
of any note respond, Certainly it is a commandment. About 
this there is no dispute of importance. It being admitted 
that baptism is a commandment of God, the next question 
is simply this : Is it right to obey the commandment of 
God ? Here, again, there is but one answer. All admit 
that it is right. Then, the man who is a proper subject, and 
is baptized, obeys a commandment of God, and does right. 
Is there any man of any note that does not admit that? So 
far he is safe. But what if he is not baptized ? He, then, 
does not obey this commandment, and is not thus far safe. 
But there is no necessity for this. If all agree, as all of 
any consequence do, that baptism is a commandment of God, 
it is infallibly right to be baptized ; and, if infallibly right, 



366 COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 

beyond all doubt infallibly safe. This is all a conscientious 
roan wants. He only wants to know what is right and 
safe, and this is right and infallibly safe. 

"But many good people have died without being bap- 
tized, and must I believe that they will not be saved, sim- 
ply because they were not baptized?" says one. No, sir; 
that is taking unnecessary trouble on yourself. No one 
says you must believe that. Belief is not in what will not 
be. Belief is not negative, but affirmative. Belief is not 
that something will not be, but that something is, or will be. 
In certain cases you may lack the evidence that persons 
will be saved. Where you have not the evidence to believe, 
you do not believe. It is not the same not to have the 
evidence to prove that a person will be saved, as to have 
the evidence to prove that one will be lost. It is not the 
same not to believe a person will be saved, and believe one 
will be lost. In the one case you tell what you believe; 
in the other, you tell what you do not believe. But the 
matter in hand is not to settle the question of being saved 
or lost, so as to say with certainty precisely who or how 
many will be saved or lost. The matter is to determine 
what is right, and how to do it. The commandment is bap- 
tism, and it is right to obey it. Those who are baptized 
do right. Those who do right are safe. 

But since so much is said about baptism being essential, 
it may be well to inquire how essential the popular churches 
in this country make it? The Episcopalian Church makes 
it so essential, that you can not get into it without what 
it calls baptism. If the salvation of the Lord is in that 
church, no one can get that salvation without what the 
church calls baptism ; for, without that, no one can get into 
the church at all. The same is true of the Presbyterian 
Church. No one can get into it at all without what it calls 
baptism. Essential or not, they will not receive a man 



COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 367 

without it. There is no Presbyterian salvation without bap- 
tism. The same is true of the Methodist Church. There 
is no " full membership/' as the Methodist friends phrase it, 
without what the church calls baptism. The same is true 
of the Baptist Church. There is no salvation for any body 
in the Baptist Church without baptism, for there is no ad- 
mittance without it — no membership. If the salvation of 
the Lord is in the Baptist Church, no person can obtain it 
without baptism. Whatever salvation the Baptist Church 
has for the human race, or blessings of any sort, baptism 
is essential to all there is in it. No man can obtain present 
or future salvation, or any blessing from the Lord in the 
Baptist Church, without baptism. Baptism is essential to 
Baptist communion, and to every thing else in the Baptist 
Church. 

How essential, then, is baptism in the kingdom of God! 
It is so essential that you can not get into the kingdom 
without it. " Except a man be born of water, and of the 
Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God," says the 
great Head of the Church. The kingdom of God, here, is 
the Church. "He who believes, and is immersed, shall be 
saved," says the Lord. " Repent, and be immersed, every 
one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission 
of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." 
" Go, therefore, and disciple all nations, immersing them into 
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatever I have 
commanded you." " We are all baptized into one body." 
Such is a sample of the expressions used in Scripture, some- 
times connecting baptism with remission of sins; in one 
instance with induction " into the name," one instance with 
induction " into one body," one " into the kingdom of God," 
and there is also an instance where we read of baptizing 
into Christ, or induction "into Christ." These expressions 



368 COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 

all, in amount, are the same. " Into the name," " into the 
kingdom," " into Christ," " into one body," and " for the 
remission of sins," in substance, all amount to the same. If 
a man is in the name, he is in Christ, in the body, has the 
remission of sins, is in the Church, in the kingdom. So, if 
a man is in the kingdom, he is in the body, in Christ, in the 
name, and is pardoned. 

There is not an intimation of any man being in the 
Church, in the time of the apostles, without baptism. 
Where is the ground, then, for disputing about baptism 
being essential? If it is the initiatory rite of the new insti- 
tution, none were in the first Church without it, and none 
are admitted into any church now, of any note, without 
what the Church calls baptism, where is the ground for the 
dispute about its being essential? There is no ground for 
this skeptical dispute. All admit that it is a commandment 
of God, and that it is right to obey the commandment. 
Then, let all do what they admit to be right, and they will 
be safe so far as baptism is concerned. 

"I have another difficulty about baptism," says a man. 
" One preacher says nothing but immersion is baptism ; 
another says sprinkling or pouring will do as well — that he 
would as soon have sprinkling as any thing. I find that 
there are strong, talented, and learned men on both sides of 
this question, and if the preachers can not settle it and de- 
cide which is right, how am I to determine what to do?" 
There need be but little dispute about that. Who denies 
that immersion is valid as the initiatory rite? The whole 
Romish Church admits not only the validity of immersion, 
but that it was the original practice. The Greek Church 
has practiced immersion from the beginning. The Episco- 
palian Church admits that immersion was the original prac- 
tice. The Methodist Church has indorsed immersion in its 
creed, its standard works, and its occasional practice, from 



COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 369 

the commencement of its existence. The great historians, 
John L. Mosheim, Xeander, and "Wall, admit the validity 
of immersion, and that it was the original practice. There 
is not a better authenticated fact in history than that im- 
mersion was the invariable practice for the first two centu- 
ries, and, from the commencement of sprinkling or pouring 
in the third century, the invariable practice for the first 
thirteen hundred years among all. Christians, except clinics, 
or persons supposed to be too weak to bear immersion ; but, 
in these cases, they were never permitted to hold any office 
in the Church, because their baptism was not considered 
regular. 

Luther, Calvin, Wesley, and more than three hundred 
others, whose names appear in the quotations from the 
learned authorities on this subject, of the most distinguished 
religious teachers that have appeared in the past three cen- 
turies; reformers, critics, commentators, historians, and 
translators, in one form or other, have committed to writing, 
and left the testimony, that immersion was the original 
practice and valid. You will inquire, then, why so many 
of them sprinkled ? They did it, not on the ground that 
there was any authority in the Bible for sprinkling or pour- 
ing, but on the ground that a change in the form would not 
vitiate the ordinance if they retained the substance. They 
admitted the change from the original practice — immersion 
to sprinkling or pouring — to accommodate the ordinance to 
supposed cases that might occur in cold countries, or where 
water would be difficult to obtain, and cases of weakness 
where they could not bear immersion, arguing only the law 
of expediency for it, but claiming no divine authority for the 
change. This has been the ground all the time taken by 
all who practiced sprinkling or pouring at all, till within the 
past fifty or seventy-five years. More recently a class of 
men have arisen, less enlightened and far less scrupulous, 



370 COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 

who talk about proving sprinkling or pouring by Scripture, 
and talk of different modes of baptism. A few religious ad- 
venturers are now found who care nothing for the authority 
of history, critics, commentators, lexicographers, translators 
— and, probably, many of them know as little as they care 
about these authorities — who deny immersion outright as 
having any authority in the Bible or anywhere, and utterly 
refuse to immerse at alL But these are no guide to any 
body, nor are they to be reached by any weight of authority 
or argument. They are what they are, because they are, 
and intend to be. These irresponsible men are the only ex- 
ception to the universal proposition, that immersion has been 
received as valid by all Christians ; that it has never been 
in doubt or dispute. Up to this time there has not been a 
debate on the simple question, Is immersion baptism ? On 
this question the friends of immersion are ready and willing 
to affirm all the time. But no man of learning and reputa- 
tion is willing to deny this in discussion. 

The validity of immersion remains unquestioned by any 
thing deserving the name of authority, and is sanctioned by 
the weight of all the historians, critics, commentators, lexi- 
cographers, translators. No matter what you may think of 
sprinkling pr pouring, there is no question about immersion. 
It has never been in dispute nor doubt. It remains un- 
questioned and unquestionable, so far as men of learning and 
reputation are concerned. Those who receive immersion are 
satisfied, living and dying. Their minds are at rest about the 
ordinance. They never hear any preaching that unsettles 
their minds. Their conscience is at rest so far as baptism 
is concerned. They have no doubt about it, living or dying. 
This is not the case with those who have received sprink- 
ling or pouring for baptism. Their conscience is not at 
rest. Many of them live in continual doubt and perplexity 
about their baptism. They are continually hearing preach- 



COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 371 

ing, or reading books or tracts, such as unsettle their minds 
and fill them with doubts and confusion. Their preacher 
visits them, prays with them, talks with them, brings them 
tracts and books to read, and preaches on baptism. In this 
way he occasionally pacifies them for the time being, but 
again they hear some one quoting the admissions of the 
learned authorities, that immersion was the invariable prac- 
tice of the original Church ; and that " buried in baptism " 
— Col. xi: 12 — and "buried by baptism" — Rom. vi : 4 — 
and immersion comes into the mind in spite of all efforts to 
keep it out. The mind is again unsettled more than ever. 
The minds of many of this class are unsettled in death, and 
they go thus unsettled and in doubts into the presence of 
God. 

What, then, is the safe course to pursue ? Undoubtedly, 
to practice that which never was in doubt ; that which never 
was in dispute among great, good, and pious men. "Go," 
according to the Scriptures, " to a certain water," where 
there is "much water," go "down into the water," be 
" buried in baptism," come " up out of the water," and the 
controversy is ended so far as you are concerned. Touching 
this institution, your soul is at rest. This is infallibly safe. 
No matter what they can prove about sprinkling or pour- 
ing, your baptism stands unquestioned and your conscience 
is at rest. It may be illustrated in this way : You owe a 
man fifty dollars, and show him a fifty-dollar bill on some 
private bank, admitting that many to whom you have 
showed it say it is counterfeit; but you add that you have 
shown it to others, who say it is good, and they would as 
soon have it as any. You show him another bill, making 
similar admissions, at the same time asserting that you 
would as soon have either as a ten-dollar greenback, and lay 
this last-named along-side of the others, proposing to the 
man to take his choice. Do you suppose you would find a 



372 COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 

man in fifty miles round green enough to take either of the 
doubtful bills when one about which there is no doubt is 
offered? No, sir; in matters of this kind you take nothing 
doubtful when you can get that which never was in doubt. 
What would you give for a farm with a doubtful title ? No 
matter if three-fourths of the attorneys in your acquaintance 
would declare the title good, and only one-fourth declare it 
doubtful, you would not have it. Use the same good sense 
in your acts of obedience to God. Do nothing that is doubt- 
ful as an act of obedience to the Lord, when you can do that 
which was never doubtful. If you are aiming to please 
God, be certain and do that which all of any note admit to 
be valid, and leave the doubtful. This is infallibly safe. Be 
immersed on a confession of your faith, into the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and you will 
have no more trouble about baptism. 

" But there is a difficulty about the operation of the Spirit. 
The preachers do not agree on this subject; and, if the 
preachers can not settle this question, how am I ever to de- 
cide who is right?" says some one. Could you not be a 
Christian and be saved if you never do settle that question, 
or if you never can determine who is right ? The operation 
of the Spirit, whatever it may be and however it may be, is 
something which you are not to perform yourself. What- 
ever men may say about it, there is one thing about which 
there is no dispute, and that is, whatever influence God may 
please to exercise is from himself and not from man, and he 
will exercise it, and that, too, whether men understand how 
he does it or not. Xo matter whether men understand how 
the Lord raises the water into the atmosphere, and causes 
the rain to descend or not. The Lord sends the rain. No 
theorizing about it, on the part of men, hinders or accelerates 
the rain. In the same way, no theorizing of men hinders or 
accelerates the influence of the Spirit. What men must do, 



COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 373 

they, of course, must know how to do it. That which the 
Lord does himself, he knows how to do it, and will do it, in 
his own way, whether men theorize correctly about it or not. 
Preaching theories about the influence of the Spirit, or the 
operation of the Spirit, may sound religious to those who do 
not understand the matter, but there is nothing in it to save 
a single human being. The thing for man to do is to listen 
to the word of the Lord, believe it with the whole heart, 
and do what the Lord commands. This is the best man can 
do. It is all that he can do. If he believes all the Lord 
has said, and makes every effort in his power to do all the 
Lord requires, the Lord will do every thing right on his 
part. The matter for man to do is to exercise faith in God 
that he will do his part, in all things, faithfully, whether 
man can understand how he will do it or not. All should 
come to God in full assurance of faith, all confidence that he 
is able and willing to do all things well — to do all for man 
that he needs — to save his soul. The Lord will do his part 
whether man understands hoiv he will do it or not. It is 
faith men need — confidence in God that he is able and will- 
ing to do for man more than he asks or thinks, whether he 
understand how the Lord will do it or not. It is not theo- 
ries about the influence of the Spirit that man needs, but 
faith and obedience to the commandments of God. There is 
no threat against any man because he does not understand 
any theory about the influence of the Spirit, but there are 
terrible threats against the disobedient and unbelieving. 

" Some preachers say that justification is by faith only, 
and others say it is not by faith only. I know not how to 
decide," says one. What if you never do decide? You 
know that it is commanded to "believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ." Then, it is clearly right to believe. So 
far, there is no difficulty. You know that God has com- 
manded all men everywhere to repent. Then, it is right to 



374 COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 

repent. So far, the way is clear. Baptism is commanded : 
" Then Peter commanded them to be baptized in the name 
of the Lord." Then, it is right to be baptized. So far, the 
way is clear. It is always safe to do what you know to be 
right. You know it is right to believe with all your heart. 
You know it is right to repent. You know it is right to be 
baptized. Do what you know to be right, and you are safe 
so far as these matters are concerned. Then, if it should 
turn out that justification is " by faith only," you are safe, 
for you have the faith. There will be no disappointment, 
only that you were justified a little sooner than you thought 
you were. You will certainly not regret that you obeyed 
the commands to repent and be baptized. But if you should 
stop at faith, and find that justification is not "by faith 
only," you would find yourself still not justified. It is, 
then, infallibly safe to believe, repent, and be immersed. 
So far, there is no difficulty where the desire is simply to do 
right — to be safe. 

"But there are so many creeds, all claiming to be right, 
that I should not know which to take. They were all made 
by learned men, and if they can not agree on the kind of a 
creed, how am I to decide which is right ? " says one. It is 
a matter of great moment and of much relief that, aside 
from all these conflicting, clashing, and erring creeds, there 
is one book that all parties concede is right. They all agree 
that the Bible is right — that it came from God. They all 
further agree that it contains the law of God — that the law 
of the Lord is perfect. The only wonder is, that man ever 
attempted to make any other creed or law for the Church. 
Such an undertaking could not have commenced without 
two wicked assumptions: 1. That the law of God, as set 
forth in the Bible, is not sufficient — is a failure. 2. That 
the insufficiency or failure can be remedied by weak, err- 
ing, and uninspired men. No man of intelligence will 



COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 375 

affirm, in plain terms, that the Bible is not sufficient for 
the government of the saints; or that man — uninspired 
man — can make a creed that will serve a better purpose 
than the Bible. Still such affirmations are implied in every 
attempt made by uninspired men to make a creed. If you 
admit, as all are bound to do, that the law of God is in 
the Bible; that nothing may be added to it, nothing taken 
from it, and that no part of it may be changed, there is 
not an excuse in the world for making another law. The 
law of God in the Bible is the law, the divine law, the 
supreme law, in the kingdom of God; and it is a treason- 
able movement to attempt to get up another constitution, 
law, name, body, or officers, apart from the constitution, 
law, name, body, and officers as found in the Bible. 

But the matter now in hand is to find a safe course to 
pursue. Can this be done? Certainly it can. All admit 
the Bible to be right. All admit that the law of God in 
the Bible is right. All admit that those who follow the 
Bible honestly and faithfully, in faith and practice, will be 
saved. All admit that wherever any creed differs from the 
Bible it is wrong. Then it is infallibly safe to take the 
Bible and follow it. When men undertake to prove that 
a human creed is a good one, they argue that it is like the 
Bible. If a creed like the Bible is a good one, why will 
not the Bible itself do ? If the Bible will not serve the 
purpose — is insufficient and a failure — a creed like it would 
be equally insufficient. When men make a creed to do 
what the Bible would not do, they should certainly make 
it different from the Bible, or it would serve no better pur- 
pose than the Bible itself. Why does not some man, who 
thinks we can not govern the Church with the law of God, 
come out and show us wherein the law of God is deficient ; 
where the creed should be made different from the law of 
God, so as to serve the purpose better ? No man does this ; 



376 COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 

but every advocate of a human creed maintains that he took 
his creed from the Bible ; that he can prove it by the Bible, 
or that it is like the Bible. There are not many positions 
that are conceivable touching this matter. It might be a 
source of some satisfaction to look at the positions possible: 
1. Did the Lord design the Bible, or his law set forth 
in it, as the creed — the rule of faith and practice? He 
certainly did ; for the first Christians and' the Church had 
no creed or rule of faith and practice but the instructions 
found in the sacred writings, the law of God, as now found 
in the Bible. It is simply a matter of fact, that the first 
Christians and Church had no guide but the teaching of 
Christ and the apostles. Then, the apostolic requirement 
to " preach the word n — to commit the things learned of 
the apostles to faithful men, who shall be able to teach oth- 
ers also; to preach no other Gospel, nor even pervert the 
Gospel ; to add nothing, take away nothing; to continue in 
the things learned ; to hold fast the form of sound words — 
sound speech, that can not be condemned, shows that the Lord 
intended us to go to him for the creed, the rule of faith and 
practice; to adhere to his teaching, as set forth by him and 
his apostles, and not to be turned away after the command- 
ments of men and the rudiments of the world. The grand 
statement of Paul, that "all scripture is given by inspira- 
tion of God, and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for 
correction, for instruction in righteousness ; that the man 
of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished to all good 
works," shows the use that the Lord intended should be 
made of the Scriptures. They were intended to perfect the 
man of God, and thoroughly furnish him for every good 
work. This leaves no room for any human creed, and no 
excuse for any man to hanker after one It shows, also, 
the Lord's design — that he designed the inspired Scriptures 
to be the rule of faith and practice. 



COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 377 

2. Seeing, now, the Lord's design, to make the inspired 
Scriptures the rule of faith and practice, has he failed in 
that design? And shall some man, or set of men, presume 
to improve on the Lord's design, and accomplish that 
wherein the Lord failed? This w T ould be presumption 
added to presumption. 

3. But it is a fact, that no human creed existed for 
about three hundred years after the birth of Christ. During 
the most successful and triumphant period of the existence 
of the Church, she had no human creed, but was governed 
wholly by the law of God. This ought to satisfy all good 
men. • 

4. But what is gained when you make a creed? Noth- 
ing, only that a foundation is laid for a party. No man 
nor set of men can make a creed that will give general sat- 
isfaction to any considerable number even of the best men 
in the world. Vast numbers of them will never indorse 
it, and will never unite with those who hold the creed. 
Even those who indorse it, every few years will get into 
contentions about it, and split asunder. Take the Presby- 
terians as an example. They have a creed with as much 
human skill, wisdom, and labor bestowed on it as any creed 
in the world. What has resulted from it? 1. It has barred 
them from all other denominations. 2. It is not believed 
nor received by any people in the world except themselves. 
3. They have had eight or ten divisions over it. 4. The 
Old and New School are now divided about the interpreta- 
tion of the creed. 5. After a struggle of some two hun- 
dred years, all the sorts of Presbyterians together in the 
United States amount to not more than five hundred thou- 
sand, or about one in seventy of our entire population ! The 
effort to return to apostolic ground and teaching, in all 
things, in the great reformatory movement of the nine- 
teenth century, has risen up and outnumbered them in fifty 

32 



378 COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 

years, in defiance of the combined opposition of all the par- 
ties in the land. The same has been illustrated by the 
Methodist and Baptist creeds, only that they have been 
more prolific in both numbers and divisions. 

5. There is not a human creed in the world that has any 
popularity in a single party on the face of the earth, except 
the one that has adopted it. All other religious parties 
utterly disregard it. The idea of any extended success on 
a human creed is utterly hopeless. There is nothing clearer 
than that the parties built on these human platforms are 
decomposing and crumbling away to nothing. The man 
tfowed down under a human creed, at this late date, with 
the history of the past three hundred years before him, 
must be a dull scholar truly. 

6. The Bible has the advantage in every respect. All 
admit that it is from God ; that it is right in all respects ; 
that it is perfect in all its parts; that it contains all things 
that pertain to life and godliness; that it contains the whole 
will of God to man; that it contains the law of God; that 
it contains the teaching of Christ and the apostles ; the word 
of God, able to save the soul, to build up the saints, and 
give them an inheritance among the sanctified; thoroughly 
furnish them for every good work ; that it contains the rule 
by which all shall be judged in the last day. It has the 
weight of divine authority in it. It has the power of God 
in it. It is backed up by the Almighty Father of heaven 
and earth; by his oath, by the throne, and him who sits 
on the throne; by the crown and all the armies of the up- 
per world. The men who stand by it defend it, and com- 
mit their all to it ; are girded as with the everlasting hills, 
and continually realize that the everlasting arms are under- 
neath. They depend not on their own wisdom, but on the 
wisdom of God, as set forth in the holy teaching of Scrip- 
ture; the power of God and the wisdom of God, as dis- 






COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 379 

played in the preaching of the cross of Christ. They depend 
on no teaching of their own, views, nor theories, but on 
their great Master, the Messiah; his teaching, and that of 
his apostles; his cause and his work. They have identified 
themselves with him and his cause, and have lost sight of 
themselves in beholding the glories of their Lord and Re- 
deemer. They have taken their stand behind their great 
Leader, the Lord, the King, who sits on the throne in 
heaven, and intend to keep him in front of them. They 
have planted themselves squarely on the foundation which 
the Lord laid, on which the Church was at the first planted, 
and on the law of the Lord, and intend to stand by their 
Lord, his cause, all he said and did; to defend and main- 
tain that and nothing else. This, they know, is infallibly 
safe for this world and that which is to come. They in- 
tend to stand by every man, side by side, in full fellowship, 
who is identified with their Lord and his cause, and push 
the Bible, the law of the Lord, the teaching of Christ and 
his apostles, -through the world. The Gospel of Christ is 
their theme. Those for the Gospel of Christ, his teaching, 
and that of the apostles, and nothing else, will find them- 
selves all united in one cause and one work, under their 
one great Leader and Commander. The Lord of hosts will 
be with them. 

On the other hand, those on the side of human creeds, 
if they have not seen enough to satisfy them, will soon see 
enough. They have no cohesion. They are splitting on 
every pretext. They are crumbling and falling to pieces on 
every hand. They are convincing sensible men that they 
have nothing tangible nor intelligible. They are groping 
their way in the dark. They can not stand before Bible 
men. For they admit that the Bible is right; that it is 
from God ; that it is perfect ; that their creed is not right, 
not from God, not perfect. With these admissions, they 



380 COURSE TO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 

can not stand before the Bible and Bible men. They can 
not maintain their plea for a creed which they admit is not 
right, not from God, not perfect, in competition with the 
book which all admit is from God, right, perfect. They 
can not withstand the men for Christ, his cause, his Gospel, 
his teaching, and that of his apostles, and nothing else. 
There is no standing before the Lord and his cause, nor 
before his word — his Gospel. The men who intend to op- 
pose the friends of Jesus, should be informed what they 
will have to withstand, so as to enable them to make up 
the issue and prepare themselves for the contest. It is now 
in tangible and intelligible form, so that they can under- 
stand it. They need not commence isolating scraps from 
writings among Christians of the present day, or of any 
day, as exponents of the teaching of Bible men. Many of 
these scraps might be shown to be all right, if taken in 
their contextual connection ; but whether this can be done 
in every instance or not, is a matter of no importance. 
The slips of the pens of good men, the chance erroneous 
positions taken by them, or mistakes made, are not the 
teaching, or a fair representation of their effort. Xo man 
is bound to defend these. They are not the ground of 
Bible men. The Gospel, the teaching of the Lord and his 
apostles, the ground on which the first Christians stood, is 
the ground, the Gospel, and teaching maintained, advocated, 
and defended. As one man, the friends of the Lord Jesus 
stand here, and, by the grace of God, intend to stand here 
till the last. If it is not safe, then all the Christians for 
the first three hundred years were not safe, for they all 
stood here. They believed the Gospel, and became obedi- 
ent to the faith. They, then, followed the apostles' teaching 
faithfully, and had the promise of a crown of life. This is 
infallibly safe for this world and the world to come. May 
all the friends of the Lord prove themselves worthy of this 



COURSISTO PURSUE TO BE INFALLIBLY SAFE. 381 

ground, defend and maintain it with integrity till the Lord 
shall come, and thus be able to say,- "*I have kept the faith." 
In the Lord, their strength and Redeemer, is their ever- 
lasting trust. To his name be the honor and power ever- 
lasting. 



SERMON, No. XYI. 

THEME -THE LOYE OE GOD TO MAN. 

Text— ** God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that 
whoever believes on him should not perish, but have eternal life."— 
John iii: 16. 

The words just read set forth the most wonderful state- 
ment ever uttered, and yet one of the most encouraging to 
the human race. When we consider that the history of 
mankind for four thousand years had been but little else 
than the history of sin and transgression; and that, at the 
time Jesus came into the world, the race had all gone out 
of the way — that there were none good — that the whole 
world had become guilty before God, was conducted in un- 
belief —all lost ; when the corruptions, crimes, and iniqui- 
ties that constantly were in remembrance before God from 
all parts of the world, is it not wonderful beyond expres- 
sion "that God so loved the world, that he gave his only- 
begotten Son, that whoever believes on him might not 
perish, but have everlasting life?" What a wonderful les- 
son there is contained in this, and with what child-like 
simplicity the apostle deduces that lesson from it : " If 
God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." 1 
John iv: 11. 

What an unspeakable satisfaction it is to every human 
being to know that, however neglected by men, cast off and 
forsaken ; however down-trodden, oppressed, and despised 

(383) 



384 THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 

of men, each one is loved by the Creator and Benefactor 
of all ! When a poor creature is seen degraded, corrupted 
and cast down, how blessed it is to know that God has 
loved such an one. When one is friendless and home- 
less in this world, how rich it is to know that God Las 
loved such an one. However degraded, debased, and de- 
spised, every creature of the human race is a subject of the 
love of God. God loved the world; nay more, he "so loved 
the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that who- 
ever believes on him might not perish, but have everlast- 
ing life ! " 

In noticing speakers, in their efforts to give expression to 
their ideas of the lofty origin of the grand scheme of divine 
benevolence vouchsafed to men, you will hear one assert 
that it originated in the Infinite Power. That is truly a 
lofty origin for the Gospel scheme, but it rises not high 
enough. Another effort is made, and the speaker says it 
originated in the Infinite Wisdom. That is certainly ascend- 
ing one step higher in the scale, but is by no means satis- 
factory. He makes another struggle, and rises another step. 
He says the glorious plan originated in the Infinite Will : 
the Lord icilled it, and it was done. But' he makes one 
more effort, and declares that the grand scheme of human 
redemption originated in the Infinite Goodness ; that the 
Infinite Goodness originated and suggested it, the Infinite 
Will resolved it, the Infinite Wisdom devised it, and the 
Infinite Power executed it. 

What an overwhelming thought, that the infinitely pure, 
holy, and just One, in looking over the debased, degraded, 
and corrupted children of men — fallen, lost, and in ruins, 
should have had compassion — that the Infinite breast should 
have been moved with pity for man ! What amazing pity, 
what wonderful compassion, what boundless mercy! He 
loved the world, was moved with compassion, and resolved : 



THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 385 

" I will have mercy on a lost race. I will extend my hand 
in pity, in infinite compassion, in divine mercy, to save, to 
lift up, purify, ennoble, happify, and glorify humanity." But 
when the divine resolve was made to make an offering for 
sin, where was an offering to be found rich enough to be 
an exponent of the infinite compassion for man — an offering 
to expiate the sins of the world ? The cattle on a thousand 
hills would be by far too feeble, too poor, and mean an 
offering. Such an offering could not take away sin. The 
gold of the four quarters of the globe could not take away 
sin. All the landed patrimony of earth, concentrated into 
one sin-offering, could not expiate one sin, free one soul 
from death — could not save one lost sinner. Where was a 
sin-offering to be found rich enough, a victim sufficiently 
precious to be, at the same time, an expression of the love, 
the infinite compassion, and that could expiate sin — be the 
one sin-offering, and purge us forever from our sins? 

When men make a sacrifice, they frequently seek some- 
thing that they can give, as they express it, and "never 
feel it." But those sacrifices that men make without feeling 
it, are miserably poor and mean sacrifices. They ought to 
be ashamed of them. Even a Jew selected the best, the 
most perfect, and the richest gifts for offerings. When 
the Lord was about to make a sin-offering, where did he 
find the gift? He looked through his vast dominions, and 
selected the dearest object, the richest jewel — that which 
lay nearest to his own bosom — his own dear Son — the only- 
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, and gave 
him — yes, blessed be his name, gave him up freely for us 
all, that whoever believes on him might not perish, but 
have everlasting life. How beautifully Paul alludes to 
this, in his plea for a rich gift for the poor saints : " Know 
you not the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though 
he was rich, yet, for our sakes, he became poor; that we, 
33 



386 THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 

through his poverty, might be made rich." "Well, too, 
does the poet break forth in the following strain : 

"Let everlasting thanks be thine 

For such a bright display, 
As makes the world of darkness shine 

With beams of heavenly day. 
Oh, for this love, let rocks and hills 

Their lasting silence break, 
And all harmonious human tongues 

Their Savior's praises speak."' 

But seeing that our Lord became poor that we might be 
rich, it might be profitable to inquire how poor he became. 
To this there is a ready answer. He became so poor that, 
on one occasion, he exclaimed: "The foxes have dens, and 
the birds have places of repose, but the Son of Man has 
not where to lay his head." Is there anywhere a murmur- 
ing, repining, and complaining disciple of Jesus, lamenting 
his hard fate, his poverty, his lowly condition? Is there 
anywhere a poor, w r eak, and complaining preacher, lament- 
ing over his hard fate, his poor fare, his scanty support ? 
If there is, let him look up and inquire, Is the servant 
better than his Master? Is the disciple better than his 
Lord ? If the Lord had not where to lay his head, and 
did not murmur nor complain, w T hy should his followers, 
for whom, in the general, there is much better provision 
made, murmur or complain? There are but few preachers 
now, poorly as they are cared for, and many of them in ea- 
gerly supported, as well as lacking that hearty encouragement 
which they should receive, who can honestly say they have 
not where to lay their heads. Many of them are poorly 
provided with the good things of this world, and some lack 
the comforts of this life really due them, and very many 
brethren will find themselves unable to render a just ac- 
count in the final judgment, on account of withholding 



THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 387 

from them their just due. These should be taught to lay 
up for themselves a good foundation against the time to 
come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. But this does 
not by any means justify any man in murmuring, as a fol- 
lower of Jesus, or a preacher of the Gospel, because he is 
poor or has a hard lot. The poor men of the kingdom 
have done, and are doing, to a great extent, as private mem- 
bers and preachers, the main body of the hard work — do- 
ing it for a small compensation, and living hard. In doing 
this, without complaining, they are following their Lord 
and Master. 

What a wonderful thought, that he, who was rich with the 
Father in heaven, should have become poor, that we, through 
his poverty, should be made rich! This our Lord did — 
become so poor that he had not where to lay his head, and 
that, too, when those whom he came to bless had plenty, 
and not only would not bestow any thing for his support, 
but despised and rejected him. What a scene, too, it w T as 
for him to look upon, to see his own people, whom he came 
to save, in the open way to ruin, as they turned away from 
him, and dashed the cup of salvation from their lips ! What 
a scene for the contemplation of the children of men, to see 
him, as he stands, looking over the devoted city, and cries, 
" Jerusalem ! Jerusalem ! thou that stonest the prophets, and 
killest those that are sent to thee; how often would I have 
gathered your children as a hen gathers her brood, but you 
would not ! " In infinite love he came to save them; to lift 
them up, and crown them with glory and honor, but they 
would not have him to reign over them. 

The present occasion should not be disturbed by any dry 
and tough theories, but a bare allusion must be made to one, 
without attempting to tell how far wrong or how near right 
it is. The theory in view starts out by contemplating the 
Father as filled with rage and fury, with an uplifted hand, 



388 THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 

ready to smite the earth with a curse. But just as the fatal 
blow, which was due to man, was about to fall, the most 
gracious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ stepped in, and the 
blow that was due to us fell on him. As just stated, it is 
not the purpose now to try to determine how far this is 
wrong, nor how near it is right; but one thing is obvious, 
and that is, that while it presents the Savior as a most 
benevolent, lovely, and compassionate being, there is noth- 
ing in it to lead us to love the Father. The Scripture says, 
"We love God, because he first loved us." We love the 
Father, because he gave the Son; and love the Son, because 
he loved us, and gave himself for us. This leads us to love 
both the Father and the Son. 

Some men have much to say of the love of God and of 
salvation, who sweep away all ground of the love of God 
and all idea of salvation. The love of God was in view of 
man perishing. He "so loved the world that he gave his 
only-begotten Son, that whoever believes on him might not 
'perish, but have everlasting life." Man was in sin, in dan- 
ger of perishing, of losing eternal life. The love of God to 
man was in view of his perishing and failing to obtain 
eternal life. It was that he might not perish but have 
eternal life. The man, therefore, that does not believe that 
man can perish, that there is any danger of man perishing, 
or that there is any such thing as man perishing or losing 
eternal life, has no foundation for the love of God. If man 
was never lost, in any danger of perishing, of losing eternal 
life, of losing both soul and body in hell, why should God 
have loved the world, and what did Jesus accomplish by 
coming into the world? In that view, what salvation is 
there? Salvation is deliverance. Where there is no deliv- 
erance there is no salvation. If man was never lost, never 
in any danger of perishing, nor of losing his soul — if there 
is no hell, second death, nor eternal punishment — if the soul 






THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 389 

can not be lost in hell; in one word, if there is no danger 
of any sort, all idea of salvation is wiped oid. The vapor- 
ing of some men about the salvation of all mankind, is the 
most idle fiction ever dreamed of. Salvation from what? 
From sin in this world ? Certainly not, for they deny that 
any are saved from sin in this world. From hell after 
death? Surely not, according to their theory; for there is 
no hell beyond this life. From the second death? By no 
means; for with them there is no second death. Where, 
then, is their salvation or their deliverance? They literally 
have no salvation from any thing in this world or the world 
to come — no deliverance from any thing in time or eternity. 
But the scriptural idea of it is, that man was lost under sin, 
included in unbelief, and God loved him — so loved him that 
he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes on 
him might not perish, but have eternal life. Jesus came in 
divine compassion to save that which was lost — came into 
the world, that the world through him might be saved. 

This is the great trouble in preaching in the present day, 
to induce men to realize that they are sinners; that they 
are lost, in unbelief, under condemnation, and will finally 
be lost, soul and body in hell, unless they are united with 
Christ. If men could be brought to realize their danger of 
being lost, as they generally do in the immediate expecta- 
tion of death, what an eifort there would be to come to the 
Savior. The reason preaching docs not take more effect is 
not that men can not understand the Gospel, but they are 
not sensible of their danger. They are not impressed with 
the idea that they are guilty before God, condemned and 
must be pardoned or be lost forever. The reason, too, why 
there is not more zeal in the preachers and private mem- 
bers of the Church than there is, may be found in the fact 
that they are not sufficiently impressed with the awful truth 
that the world is lost, under condemnation, and must perish 



390 THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 

forever, unless turned to God. This is really the ease 
■whether we realize it or not, and the great matter is for 
the preacher to keep his soul impressed continually with 
the awful idea that it is so. In doing this he is certain to 
impress those who hear him with the same overwhelming 
idea. The man made conscious of the idea that he is lost, 
guilty, and condemned; that he must finally perish unless 
he turns to God, will desire salvation and seek the way. 
Such an one will find the May. 

The very circumstance that God so loved the world that 
he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes on 
him might not perish; but have eternal life, and that our 
Lord became poor that we, through his poverty*, might be 
rich, should rouse every human being, stir every power 
within, and cause one general rush to the extended hands 
of compassion, the offers of mercy, and a most gracious par- 
don. How can any one be content for a single day; how 
can any one rest for a moment; how can any one ever 
slumber till he is reconciled to God, justified or pardoned, 
after learning that the deplorable condition, the inevitable 
ruin to which he was rushing, and the awful punishment to 
which he was exposed, so to speak, moved the great, the 
infinite and eternal One in compassion, love, and mercy ; 
yes, not only moved, roused, and called forth the infinite 
compassion, but so wonderfully moved the divine compas- 
sion as to call the Lord from heaven to earth to recover 
man from ruin? 

"We love God, because he first loved us." God was 
manifested in the flesh, so that he who saw Jesus saw the 
Father in him. As man loves and honors the Son, so he 
loves and honors the Father. The object now is to turn 
attention to the Son of God, and inquire into the reasons 
why we should love him. In his life are these reasons 
found why we should love him. Let the mind, then, follow 



THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 391 

him, examine what he said and did in search of reasons 
for loving him. How did he act toward objects of pity, 
of compassion and mercy? Follow him, if you please, and 
notice. Imagine that you see him, followed by a vast mul- 
titude, passing along, and, as he passes, you notice a poor 
blind man sitting by the way. The blind man inquires for 
the cause of this vast concourse of people, when some one 
explains to him that "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." 
You notice the pitiable object to see what he will do. He 
lifts his sightless eye-balls, and most imploringly calls out, 
" Jesus of Nazareth, Son of David, have pity on me." The 
Lord stops, gives attention to this poor blind man. He 
who was with the Father before the beginning of time, by 
whom and for whom were all things, inquires of the pitiable 
object of mercy, "What will you have?" In the simplicity 
of a child, and in view of his great calamity, he exclaims, 
" O that I might receive my sight." In the same moment, 
and by the same act, the Lord put forth his almighty power, 
and gave both a demonstration of his benevolence and divin- 
ity in giving this poor man sight. For the first time the 
man looked up and saw the beautiful heavens above him, 
all nature around him, and, it may be, his own father and 
mother, sisters and brothers. Had you been there, would 
you not have been disposed to fall down before him and 
exclaim, as one did on another occasion, " Lord Jesus have 
mercy on me, for I am a poor sinful man." He showed 
that he was the friend of the objects of pity and compas- 
sion, and, at the same time, that he possessed infinite power. 
There is reason to love him, then, both in view of his con- 
descension to the lowly and his demonstration of almighty 
power. 

Please turn attention to another point and view him on 
another occasion. He was out at sea, on one of those frail 
vessels anciently used mainly in coasting, in company with 



392 THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 

some of his disciples, and they were overtaken in a fright- 
ful storm. He was composedly lying on his pillow asleep. 
When the disciples saw the danger they were greatly fright- 
ened, and in much consternation came to him, exclaiming, 
"Master, behold Ave perish." Our gracious Lord rose up 
quietly, deliberately, and without the least trepidation, 
calmly he walked forward, looked out into the dark and 
furious heavens and over the foaming sea; gently he lifted 
his hand, and in mildness said, " Peace, be still." In a few 
moments all is calm, serene, and secure. Some one, amazed, 
exclaimed, "Who is this, that even the winds and the sea 
obey him ? " Well may he be called " Emanuel," or, when 
translated, "God with us." Here he demonstrated both 
his power and willingness to save. How could the disci- 
ples, then, with him have failed to love and adore him as 
their Savior, after such a grand transaction ? How can any 
man now fail to love, adore, and honor him as the chief 
among all the ten thousands, and altogether lovely? 

Please accompany him on another occasion — one more 
touching and sympathetic. You remember the account of 
that remnant of a family consisting of Lazarus, Mary, and 
Martha. The probability is that the father, mother, and, it 
may be, other brothers and sisters had died, and these were 
alone. In affection and devotion to each other they cling 
together. It is now a precious little circle — an only brother 
and two sisters dwelling quietly and in love together. But 
suddenly the king of terror forces his way into the little 
circle and strikes down the last male member of the family. 
Lazarus is dead! All is solemnity. The heart-broken >is- 
ters are in unutterable grief. Their brother is gone! He 
had now been dead four days. Jesus is passing that way. 
As he draws near, one of the weeping and heart-broken 
sisters hastens to meet him, overwhelmed with grief, and 
exclaims, "Lord, if thou liadst been here, my brother had 



THE LOVE OF GOD TO xMAN. 393 

not died. But I know that even now, whatever thou wilt 
ask of God, God will give it thee." See John xi: 21, 22. 
Jesus replied, "Your brother shall rise again." Martha 
replied, "I know that he shall rise again at the resurrec- 
tion at the last day." This, however, was not precisely the 
comfort she desired. She desired that her brother be re- 
stored now. " Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and 
the life; he that believes on me, though he were dead, yet 
shall he live; and whoever lives and believes on me, shall 
never die. Do you believe this?" She replied, "Yes, 
Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, 
who should come into the world." She then hastened and 
called Mary, and when she was come she fell at his feet and 
said, " Lord, if thou hadst been here my brother had not 
died." "When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews also 
weeping who came with her, he groaned in the Spirit and 
was troubled," and inquired where they had laid him, and 
the historian says " Jesus wept." Blessed be his name ; he 
can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He 
entered into sympathy with humanity, and was moved by 
the sorrows and bereavements of the children of men. 

"Come," says he, "and show me where you have laid 
him." They accompany him to the grave of Lazarus, and 
he commands them to take away the stone from the en- 
trance of the tomb. Martha said, " By this time the body 
has become offensive." Jesus replied, " Did I not say to 
you, if you would believe, you should see the glory of God ? " 
He then lilted his eyes and addressed his Father, thanking 
him that he always heard him, and explaining that because 
of the people he made the address, that they might believe 
that the Father had sent him; and, having concluded his 
address to the Father, he turned and addressed himself to 
the dead man. Did you ever hear any one address a dead 
person? Did you ever hear the bereaved and disconsolate 



394 THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 

widow address her dead husband as he lay in the coffin? 
No response is made! Did you ever hear the mother as 
she addressed her dead child? The child gave no answer. 
All was still and silent. What appalling gloom! But, 
thanks to God, when Jesus shall speak to the dead they 
will respond. "He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come 
forth." He who was dead came forth, bound hand and foot, 
with grave-clothes on, and his face bound with a napkin; and 
Jesus commanded them to loose him and let him go. Thus 
he demonstrated his benevolence in restoring a brother to 
his afflicted sisters, and his divinity in raising a man from 
the dead; showed his love to all mankind, and his power to 
raise the dead. What an unbounded relief to the soul, to 
know that we have a friend, a Savior, who is able and will- 
ing to make the dead alive. "As I live, you shall also 
live," says " he who -was dead and is alive, and lives for- 
ever and ever." 

Please accompany the Savior at another point. Imagine 
you see him late in the evening, accompanied by Peter, 
James, and John, on his way to the garden of Gethsemane. 
They walk along quietly and silently. The disciples are 
guided by him, but know not where they are going nor 
what is to be done. He was accustomed to retire to the 
solitude for devotions. It is said of him, in one instance, 
that he prayed all night. He so frequently drew aside from 
the multitude for prayer, for composure, and an opportunity 
for imparting private instructions, that tliey had no need of 
any surprise at his drawing aside at this time nor in this 
manner. No new interest appears to have been excited in 
them by the movement. They passed along their quiet 
way, entered the garden, and after walking a short distance 
he turned to them and said, "You stay here and watch, 
while I go yonder and pray." His soul was heavy. l\{i 
was exceeding sorrowful. Advancing a few paces he fell 



THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 395 

down on his face and prayed : " O, my Father, if it be pos- 
sible, let this cup pass from me! Nevertheless, not my will 
but thine be done." Who can repeat this language with 
a due appreciation of what is contained in it? This was 
prayer in the true sense — prayer indeed. He had the cross 
in view, with all the shame and mockery accompanying, 
with his wonderful sufferings. He had a sinful world on 
his soul. Rising up he returned and found the men whom 
he commanded to watch, asleep. How mortifying in this 
hour of trial, when his soul was bowed down in grief, that 
these men, whom he had specially called and who had ac- 
companied him for about three and a half years, should 
have been so little interested in and impressed by the great 
matters in hand, that they had, in a few moments when he 
stepped aside from them, fallen asleep. But they had mis- 
understood him all the time, had no realization of all that 
was at hand, nor expectation of what was soon to occur. 
"What!" said he, "could you not watch with me one 
hour?" 

After rebuking them, with all the wonderful matters soon 
to transpire in Jerusalem on his soul, he returned, and, fall- 
ing down, prayed the same words again : u O, my Father, 
if it be possible, let this cup pass from me! Nevertheless, 
not my will but thine be done." Rising again he found 
them asleep the second time, and rebuked them. How t hard 
that they should have fallen asleep while he was in the 
midst of these terrible agonies! Returning again he prayed 
the same words: "O, my Father, if it be possible, let this 
cup pass from me! Nevertheless, not my will but thine be 
done." In his terrible agony his sweat became as great 
drops of blood. How great was his love! How wonder- 
ful the agony of mind, his trouble in spirit! In view of 
this scene, let no saint fear that his zeal, solicitude, and 
anxiety are too great, that his prayers are too fervent, that 



396 THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 

he has too vivid and lively an appreciation of the great 
cause in which he is engaged in striving to save man. 
What everlasting obligations we are under to love, adore, 
and honor the Savior of men ! 

Returning to the disciples, he found them sleeping the 
third time, and told them to sleep on now, and take their 
rest. No wonder that poor, weak, and care-worn men and 
women should fall asleep now, under the best efforts men 
can make in preaching the Gospel, if they could not have 
kept awake on that night. But their rest was not permit- 
ted to last long. Soon he says, "Let us be going." He 
knows what they are to meet. Often had he crossed the 
Cedron to this garden, and Judas, who betrayed him, knew 
the place; and, having received a band of men and officers 
from the chief priests and Pharisees, came, with lanterns, 
torches, and weapons. Jesus knew all these things; went 
out, met them, and inquired, "Whom do you seek?" They 
replied, "Jesus of Nazareth." He answered them, "I am 
he." 

How bold and independent ! No evasion, no apology, nor 
expression of surprise. Judas, who betrayed him, was there 
with them. When the Lord answered "I am he," they 
went backward, and fell to the ground. Then he inquired 
again of them, " Whom do you seek ?" They replied, " Jesus 
of Nazareth." Again he said, "I am he." Peter, who was 
standing by, with all his ideas of an earthly kingdom in his 
mind, resolute, and determined to fight for his Master, in- 
stantly drew his sword, struck the high priest's servant, and 
cut off his ear. The Lord then turned to Peter, and com- 
manded him to put up his sword, adding, "The cup which 
my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?" "Then 
the band, the captain, and officers of the Jews, took Jesus, 
bound him," and led him away. Peter and John followed 
him, witnessing all that was done ; but, seeing their Master 



THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 397 

under arrest, and in the hands of his enemies, their courage 
failed them. 

The high priest asked Jesus concerning his disciples and 
his teaching. The Lord replied, "I spake openly to the 
world ; I ever taught in the synagogue and in the temple, 
where the Jews always resort, and in secret have I said 
nothing. Why do you ask me? Ask them who heard me 
what I have said to them; behold, they know what I said." 
An officer who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his 
hand, adding, "Do you thus answer the high priest?" 
What an indignity! How mildly and meekly it was en- 
dured! He calmly replied, "If I have spoken evil, bear 
testimony of the evil ; but if well, why do you strike me ? " 
During the trial, and when he needed a friend more than he 
had ever done before, Peter had been given over to Satan to 
be sifted, and denied him three times. What a scene was here 
for men and angels to witness ! The only absolutely pure, 
perfect, and sinless inhabitant this world has ever had, was 
arrested, and brought before the civil court, and tried for 
his life. After a calm and impartial examination of the 
case, their judge said, "I find in him no fault at all," or, 
as they express it in the civil courts now, "I find him not 
guilty." What a picture! He, who knew all things, had 
power to call twelve legions of angels to his relief, stood in 
the court; permitted himself to be treated as a criminal; 
made no effort to escape condemnation ; made not a single 
explanation, nor correction of mistake or misunderstanding, 
but permitted them to proceed in their own way, and come 
to their own conclusion. He appeared to express no con- 
cern in the matter of their decision, but gave them an 
opportunity to act entirely free, thus giving the world a 
complete demonstration what the wickedness of humanity 
would do when left entirely to itself or free. What did it 
do? It cried, "Let him be crucified." When the Roman 



398 THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 

judge had such scruples as to wash his hands before the 
court, as their custom was, and say "I have cleansed my 
hands of the blood of this innocent person," the rage of 
the Jews, their prejudice, and determination in the matter, 
were such, that they cried, "Let his blood be on us and 
our children." The Lord pity humanity when left to it- 
self. How man should fear and dread the idea of the Lord 
leaving him to himself, to rush down to ruin! to condemn 
the innocent, and let the guilty go clear. The immaculate 
Savior is condemned to die, and the robber, Barrabas, is 
released. 

What can not sin do? It can pervert civil courts — courts 
of justice — turn away their wise and good purpose, and 
make them a means to condemn the innocent and release 
the guilty. It can work into the highest courts, and secure 
the most cruel and wicked decisions, the most unjust and 
unreasonable. Sin can work its way up to the most august 
legislative bodies; gain the ascendancy over justice and 
equity; secure the enactment of the most unjust, partial, 
and cruel laws. It can control magistrates, executives, 
and prevent the enforcement of the purest and best laws 
ever enacted by man. It can push schemes of gain and 
oppression through the world. It can produce commotion, 
confusion, and strife, deluging the land in blood, filling it 
with widows and orphans, death and mourning! Still, 
men and women press it to their hearts! 

Pilate went forth and said, " Behold, I bring him forth 
to you, that you may know that I find no fault in him." 
They deliberately placed a crown of thorns on his head, 
and robed him in purple; and as Jesus came forth, crowned 
with thorns, and robed in purple, Pilate exclaimed, "Behold 
the man!" "Ecce Homo!" When the chief priests and 
officers saw him, they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him." 
Pilate said, " Take ye him, and crucify him, for I find no 



THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 399 

fault in him." They responded, " We have a law, and by 
our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son 
of God." These were religious men that thus persisted in 
the clamor to crucify ; and not only religious men, but re- 
ligious rulers and teachers. They were the men who were 
looked up to as examples in teaching and practice! The 
Lord pity the people, and have mercy on them when such 
men as these rule. Thick darkness was over their minds; 
their hearts were hardened ; their minds were perverted ; 
the way of righteousness they knew not. Little they knew 
of the wrath they were treasuring up against the day of 
wrath. Little did they know of the desolation that was 
hanging over their people, city, and temple. Little did 
they think that the God of Abraham would cast them off 
for their unbelief and hardness of heart. Yet these awful 
realities were before them. 

They took him and led him away, " bearing his cross." 
Imagine that you see him, as he leaves the court, bearing his 
cross along the streets, crowned with thorns, and robed in pur- 
ple, meekly and uncomplainingly. Rough and uncultivated 
men are thronging the way near by him, offering insult at 
every corner. Thousands of idle and thoughtless boys and 
girls throng the streets. Women are seen on the streets, 
sidewalks, in the doors and windows, uniting in the gen- 
eral popular current, clamoring, " Crucify him ! crucify him !" 
A little to one side, are seen the priests, the rabbis, the 
doctors, lawyers, and scribes, in low tones, uttering words 
of wrath and bitterness. What a scene was this for men 
and angels to view ! Is it not wonderful that the Lord did 
not smite the earth with a curse? 

As the tradition goes, owing to his fasting, his wonder- 
ful agonies in the garden, and the suffering of his soul, in 
view of all the indignities he endured, his bodily strength 
gave way, and he sank beneath the weight of the cross; 



400 THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 

and they compelled one Simon, a Cyrenian, from the coun- 
try, to bear his cross. The latter part of this is clearly 
stated, Luke xxiii: 26. They ascend the mount, and reach 
the appointed place. They extend his arms, and drive nails 
through his hands into the wood of the cross, lift it rudely 
from the ground, and plant it so that it will stand. There 
he hangs, on the rough iron spikes, through the thick part 
of his hands, all his muscles in a quiver, writhing in the 
most excruciating sufferings! The blood is seen tracing 
down over his temples as he hangs struggling for breath. 
Wicked, hard-hearted, and cruel men mock him. Even 
the thieves crucified, one on each side of him, revile him. 
One calls out, " If you are the Christ, come down from the 
cross." Three long hours he hung there, a spectacle to 
men and angels, in the midst of blasphemies, scoffs, and 
mockings! When the fever of death was on his lips, he 
called for a sip of water. What a small favor ! only a Bip 
of water, to cool the feverish, parched lips of the dying 
Savior! Did you ever, as you sat by the bed of the dying 
friend, hear the soft and gentle request for a sip of water? 
Do you remember with what inexpressible delight you gave 
the water? The dying Lord was not even afforded that 
relief! A man fastened a sponge on a reed, dipped it in 
vinegar, mingled with myrrh, and held it up to the lips 
of the suffering Redeemer. He turned away, refusing to | 
drink it. 

He suffers on a few minutes longer; and, looking back 
in the crowd, he saw a circle of womeu, a little more re- 
fined and elevated than the cruel masses. At all events, 
they had hearts that could be moved. They had common 
feelings of humanity. They, at least, to some extent, were 
sensible of his sufferings, and were weeping. Jesus lifted 
his eyes, and called out to them: " Weep not for me, but 
weep for yourselves and for your children." He saw not 






THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 401 

only the present, but the future, both of these women and 
their children. He saw that awful calamity which hung 
over their nation, city, and temple, and had predicted their 
overthrow. The words he uttered were not merely for those 
women, but for the millions to come, showing that he fully 
comprehended all that was to come. 

Again, he looked over the multitude, and saw the woman 
that gave him birth, the blessed Mary, the mother of Jesus. 
He called to her, "Woman, behold your Son!" What a 
scene was there for a mother to look on ! Her Son, whom 
she had a thousand times, in his childhood, pressed to her 
heart, and whom she still loved as her Son, though he was 
her Lord and Redeemer, in the hands of most cruel and 
heartless enemies, hanging on an ignominious Roman cross ; 
robed in purple and crowned with thorns, and his face all 
covered with blood, struggling for breath! Mothers, in the 
kingdom of Jesus, think of looking on your lonely son, in 
such sufferings and ignominy, in the midst of cruel enemies ! 
Death is hard in its mildest form, but how hard and ter- 
rible in the midst of heartless and bitter enemies ! Turning 
his eye to the beloved disciple, John, the apostle, he ex- 
claims, " Son, behold your mother ! " This appears to have 
been the only temporal arrangement he had to make. Every 
good man loves his mother. Jesus loved his mother, and 
made provision for her temporal wants when he was dying. 
He gave her the richest legacy he had, of an earthly nature, 
in giving John the beloved, one of the kindest and best of 
men, to be her son. He, at the same time, gave John a 
precious gift, in giving Mary, the mother of Jesus, to be 
his mother. John understood it, and took her to his own 
house, and cared for her till the day of her death. What 
an example this is to all men in reference to their mothers ! 

In the midst of all this, how does he act in reference to 
his enemies? Here is an example. Come, O you professed 
34 



402 THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 

followers of Jesus, and view this example, and then deter- 
mine whether you know him, who was the chief among all 
the ten thousands, and altogether lovely. How did he feel 
toward his enemies and persecutors, in the midst of his 
most excruciating pains, being aggravated every moment 
by their perversity and malignity? Hear his words: 
" O, my Father, forgive them : they know not w T hat they 
do." Blessed be his holy name ! Well may we tremble 
when we come here, and hear this entreaty to his Father 
for them, and the extenuation offered, "they know not 
what they do." Do you say " It is not possible for mom 
to be elevated to this degree?" It is possible, and was 
actually exemplified in the death of Stephen. When he 
was covered with bruises, was bleeding, and almost fainting 
in death, he cried, with a loud voice, " Lay not this sin to 
their charge." Well might such an one as he, in the last 
moments, say, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." This is 
truly rising above the world and above unaided human 
nature; by the grace of God, attaining to the divine nature; 
triumphing over the first Adam, by the power of the 
ond, the Lord from heaven. While we were enemies, Christ 
died for the ungodly; and, while he was dying, he prayed 
for these enemies, "O, my Father, forgive them: they know 
not what they do!" In view of this, how can there be a 
human being that does not love Jesus? How can hardness 
of heart and impenitence turn away from this unbounded 
love ? 

Before he expires, he cries again: "Eli, Eli, lama sabach- 
thani?" which, translated, is, "My God, my God, why hast 
thou forsaken me?" In the midst of bitter and most un- 
relenting enemies, in his awful sufferings, he is left alone. 
No friend on earth attempts to comfort him. Not one even 
attempts to wipe the blood, mingled with the sweat of death, 
from his face ! Not an angel comes near to offer the last 



THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 403 

comfort! The Father's face is turned away! His enemies 
are left to themselves to show what they will do. They 
reach the climax of enormity, and show what the race 
would come to left in their hands. 

They lift their eyes once more, and view him. He cries 
with a loud voice, breathes the last time, gives the last 
struggle ; his head falls on his breast ; he hangs in a quiver 
for a moment, and is gone. Jesus died ! All stand in 
painful silence ! There was a great earthquake ! The rocks 
wore rent ! The vail in the temple is split in two from the 
top to the bottom. Darkness spreads down over the whole 
land from the sixth till the ninth hour. The centurian, 
witnessing all these things, exclaims, " Certainly, this man 
was the Son of God." His friends are disheartened. In 
disappointment and gloom, they turn away, saying, " We 
thought it was he who was to have redeemed Israel." They 
gave up all as lost, and turned away to their former avoca- 
tions. The enemies were exultant and in triumph. All 
the powers of sin, darkness, and rebellion against God, of 
earth and hell, are in triumphant array. As they view it, 
they have ended his work and defeated his plan. He is 
cold and silent in death, and his body quietly lays in Jo- 
seph's new tomb. Little did they comprehend his plans. 
Little did they think of his founding a kingdom on his own 
death. They thought all was secure. All remained quiet 
till the dawn of the third day. The mighty question, in- 
volving the foundation of the kingdom, is in debate. Will 
he rise? His enemies on earth, and all those in the vast 
abyss of perdition, say no. Even his few and discouraged 
friends on earth are not expecting it. But all the princi- 
palities of the upper world, the mighty hierarchs about the 
throne, affirm he will rise. The time has come for the 
trial of the question — the final decision. An angel of God 
descends, and rolls away the stone from the entrance of the 



404 THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 

tomb. The Roman soldiers, on guard, fall prostrate as dead 
men. The earth trembles ! Jesus rose from the dead ! The 
Lord is alive ! A great number of the old saints, whose 
bodies rested in their graves about Jerusalem — as some have 
supposed about one hundred and forty-four thousand — rose, 
and were seen by many in the holy city after Jesus rose; 
as if the Lord intended giving a grander and fuller dem- 
onstration than his own resurrection, by itself, would have 
been of the resurrection from the dead. A resurrection 
for the human race is secured and now demonstrated. 

This grand transaction settles the question. The Lord 
was condemned by men. They inflicted their penalty. He 
appealed the case to the high court of heaven — to God, the 
Judge of all. He reversed the decision, and removed the 
penalty, which was death, raising him from the dead. He 
was justified by the Spirit — declared innocent. After about 
forty days he ascended to heaven ; was coronated, crowned 
Lord of all ; received a name which is above every name — 
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every 
tongue confess, both of things in heaven and things on earth. 
On the great Peutecost, the brightest day for this world the 
Lord ever made, the Holy Spirit descended, and made an 
open vindication before his persecutors, the Jews, out of 
every nation under heaven, declaring that God had raised 
him from the dead, and exalted him to his own right hand. 

The patriarchal dispensation had been given, and lasted 
about twenty-five hundred years. The Mosaic dispensation, 
exclusively to the Jews, then followed, and extended over 
about fifteen hundred years more. During this period, the 
nations, apart from the seed of Abraham, were left to them- 
selves, to work out the great problem touching what man 
can do, unaided by any system from God. In the end of 
the ages, God sent his only Son to make his last appeal, 
in the dispensation of mercy and grace, to the human race; 



THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 405 

and, so to speak, the Gospel is the last effort of divine be- 
nevolence to reclaim and save fallen and sinful humanity. 
It comes, in its mighty truths and facts, surrounded by the 
most stupendous and grand displays of supernatural pow- 
ers, signs, wonders, and mighty miracles, confirming its 
claims to divine authority, appealing to the human under- 
standing. It thus appeals to the reason of man to convince 
him of its supreme authority. It points him to the inevi- 
table ruin to which he is hastening, the eternal perdition 
before him, and the devouring flames that shall lash him 
forever if he obeys not the Gospel of the grace of God. 
But its last appeal is to the affections. It tells him that 
while he was yet in his sins, without God, and without 
hope in the world, God loved him — so loved him, that he 
gave his only-begotten Sou, that whoever believes on him 
might not perish, but have everlasting life — that while we 
were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly; and that he 
now is not willing that any should perish, but that all 
should come to repentance — that, in infinite kindness and 
compassion, the Lord stands all the day long stretching 
forth his hand to a gainsaying people, exclaiming, " What 
more could I have done that I have not done?" 

He has made a full and perfect atonement for sin. In 
the end of the ages, he has made one sin-offering to purge us 
forever from our sins. He bore our sins in his own body on 
the tree. He suffered, the just for the unjust, that he might 
bring us to God. He is the propitiation for our sins ; and 
not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole 
world. He now makes his last appeal to our affections. 
Can we not, and will we not love him, who first loved us? 
Shall any man be found so hardened and abandoned that 
he can not love him who withheld not his own Son, but 
gave him up freely for us all ? Can any man, who has the 
heart of a man in him, look at this last appeal to the af- 



406 THE LOYE OF GOD TO MAN. 

fections of man as he hung, suspended between the heavens 
and the earth on that ignominious tree of the cross, crowned 
with thorns and robed in purple, till he breathed the 
breath, gave the last struggle, and expired, and not 
him? Can any human being, not perfectly chalice and 
under the influence of total apathy — any one not wl 
past feeling — view him, as the Roman spear pierces his 
side, and his warm heart's blood streams down like water 
on the ground, and not love him? How can any human 
being turn away from our Lord and refuse to love him? 

This is God"s last exhibition of mercy ; the last offer of 
divine compassion. The man who closes his eyes to it, 
hardens his heart against it, and finally resists it ; turns 
his back on it, spurns it, and dashes it from him, 1 
God's last and greatest exhibition of love, of kindness, and 
compassion, and is beyond the reach of redemption. The 
power of truth can not penetrate his heart. The power of 
reason can not move his understanding, and the most 
tionate, merciful, and compassionate appeal can not move 
his heart. The resources of infinite mercy and grace hav 
been expended and lost on him, and failed to reclaim him. 
Divine goodness can not impress his soul. Love can 
move his heart. Tenderness and kindness are was 
him. He is like a prodigal son, whose lather has ? 
a fortune on him; who despises his mother's tears and his 
father's prayers; turns away from all the love and affection 
of a kind father and mother : despises all their entreaties, 
and rushes on in his folly. His end is utter ruin. So the 
man who resists the truth of God, the grace, mercy, and 
compassion of his beneficent Creator and Benefactor, is an 
abandoned man. He has passed the rubicon. To him the 
door is closed. The voice of mercy is shnt No more ap- 
peals of love and compassion forever to his soul. He is 
becoming worse and worse, and is given over to work all 



THE LOVE OF GOD TO MAN. 407 

uncleanliness with greediness. He is left to continue his 
folly to his heart's content, and then lament it forever. 

Soon the canvas will be changed. His folly will all lay 
open before him, and he will see the utter ruin he has in- 
voked on his own head. He will then exclaim, God loved 
me ; Jesus died for me ; the Gospel was preached to me ; 
hory men exhorted me, prayed for me, and wept over me, 
and tried to induce me to turn to the Lord — tried to save 
me. They portrayed the sufferings of the Savior before me, 
and made their best appeals to me. The sick and the dying 
warned me, and plead with me, but I would not hear. The 
harvest is now past; the summer is now ended, and I am 
not saved. I am left to deplore my waywardness forever. 
The Lord has turned away his lovely face. The voice of 
mercy has ceased. The door of grace is closed. No more 
kind and compassionate invitations will be given. Adieu to 
all that is good, and pure, and holy forever. O man, who- 
ever you are, standing aloof from God, turn, turn j why will 
you die ? While it is an acceptable time, and a day of sal- 
vation, turn and live forever. 



SERMON, No. XVII. 

THEME.-THE CHURCH-ITS PURITY. 

Text—" Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have 
not love, 1 am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."— 
1 Cor. xiii: 1. 

This brief expression is selected from a lengthy letter of 
the apostle Paul to the Church in Corinth, because it con- 
tains a chief point in an important epistle, aimed to correct 
certain evils already existing among the Corinthians. No 
one can comprehend a lengthy letter like this from an iso- 
lated section, much less from a short text, like the one just 
read. To comprehend a letter like this it is necessary to 
take into view some of the manners and customs of the 
people in Corinth, but more especially the condition of the 
Church. To do this with any thing like clearness, the gen- 
eral scope of the letter must first be briefly sketched and 
considered. This is necessary on two accounts: 1. To get 
an understanding of the main scope of the letter. 2. To 
bring the Church in Corinth fully into view — evils and 
all — as it existed at the time when the letter was written. 

The apostolic letters were all written to Christians; tq^ 
those in Christ, to teach them how to live as such, serve 
God, and make their escape from a world of sin and wretch- 
edness to the everlasting rest. No one need expect, then, 
sermons in these letters to the men of the world, leading 
35 (409) 



410 THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 

them to believe on the Savior of the world, repent, and 
turn to God. Those to whom these letters were written 
were all in Christ, in the one body, the heavenly family. 
They needed instructions as Christians, encouragements, ad- 
monitions, reproofs, exhortations; in one word, they needed 
the whole of what related to the continuance in the faith 
and practice of Christians. The apostle, under the miracu- 
lous influence of the Divine Spirit of all wisdom and revela- 
tion, continually exhibited the same affectionate care and 
solicitude for the congregations of the saints, as a parent for j 
children, remembering them with tears in his prayers, night 
and day, when absent from them, and continually writing i 
them letters, caring for them, comforting, and warning them. 

In the first chapter of this letter, as now divided into I 
chapters, and not as it was at first, the apostle introduces 
an evil existing among the disciples. Division was ger- ' 
minating in their midst; parties were forming factious | 
heresies. These were arising, not from misunderstanding 
the Scriptures, nor from disagreement on the meaning of 
Scripture, nor yet from difference in regard to any funda- 
mental principle in the new covenant, nor any important 
point of teaching, but from something far less than any of ' 
these — from preferences for their public men. This was 
their subject of difference, their bone of contention, their j 
apple of discord. Some among them said they were of 
Paul, for Paul, or, in modern style, Paulites. Others were 
for Cephas, or Peter ; they were Cephasites. Others were for 
Apollos, or they were Ajiollosites. At least, the apostle uses 
these names to bring out the principle involved among 
them, and expose the evil. It is, however, most likely 
that these were not really the names involved in the party- 
isms originating in their midst, but names of persons of 
much less importance; for he says, 1 Cor. iv: 6, "These 
things, brethren, I have, in a figure, transferred to myself 



THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 411 

and Apollos, for your sakes; that you might learn in us 
not to think of men above what is written, that no one of 
you be puffed up for one against another." He did not 
desire to mention the names of the men who were really 
involved, and who, most probably, had taken pleasure in 
having their names used by a party in the Church. Paul, 
Peter, and the eloquent Apollos, evidently stood higher in 
the affections of the brethren than the men really involved 
in the faction. Paul knew this, and wisely, as well as pru- 
dently, did not mention their names, but transferred the 
matter to himself and Apollos, showing that even their 
names might not be thus used as the head of and to designate 
a party, and certainly no other names. He puts the ques- 
tion to them : Who, then, is Paul, and who is Apollos, but 
ministers by whom you believe? Does he regard it as "a 
wise providence of God" that they were preparing the way 
for division, and excuse it on the ground that it was not 
about any thing fundamental, but merely non-essentials? By 
no means. That only renders the matter the more inexcus- 
able. Hear him: "And I, brethren, could not speak to 
you as to spiritual, but as to carnal, even as to babes in 
Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat; 
for hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither yet now 
are you able. For you are yet carnal: for, whereas, there 
is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are you 
not carnal, and walk as men? For while one says, I am 
of Paul ; and another, I am of Apollos ; are you not carnal ? 
Who, then, is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by 
whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to every man ? " 
To take the vanity more fully out of these men who were 
desiring preferences, he says: " So, then, neither is he that 
plants any thing, neither he that waters, but God who gives 
the increase." See 1 Cor. iii: 1-7. 

Touching their divisions, he puts the question to them 



412 THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 

directly: "Is Christ divided?" Their dividing would in- 
dicate to the world that Christ was divided; but he knew 
that they would all be compelled to say the Lord is not 
divided, but one. This he follows up with the pointed 
question: "Was Paul crucified for you?" If you are to 
be called after men, they should have been crucified for 
you. Pressing the matter still more closely, he says: 
" Were you immersed into the name of Paul?" As if he 
had said, If you are to be Paulites, you should have been 
immersed into the name of Paul; but if you are Christians, 
or followers of Christ, then were you rightly immersed into 
the name of Christ. But he says, "I thank God that I 
immersed none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; lest any 
should say I had immersed info my own name." They, 
therefore, had not even the ground for saying they were of 
Paul, that he had immersed them, except a few of them. 
Now for his remedy. What is his remedy for this evil? 
He says: " Xnw I beseech you, brethren, by the name of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, 
and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be 
perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same 
judgment." See 1 Cor. i: 10. 

In the fifth chapter, he calls their attention to a species of 
corruption, such, as he says, had not been named among the 
Gentiles. They had in their midst a low, degraded, and cor- 
rupt creature, in the form of a man, who had his father's 
wife. A more disgraceful specimen of humanity could not 
have been found. Yet they were pulled up instead of 
mourning that this degraded and disgraced man "might be 
taken away from among them." He proposes summary 
dealing with this flagrant and degraded transgressor. He 
commands them : " In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
when you are gathered together, and my spirit, with the 
power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one to 



THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 413 

Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be 
saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." 

There were those among the Corinthian disciples who 
went to law, brother with brother, before unbelievers. To 
this he alludes, 1 Cor. vi: 1-7. He says: "Dare any of 
you, having a matter against another, go to law before the 
unjust, and not before the saints? Do you not know that 
the saints shall judge the world? Know you not that we 
shall judge angels? how much more, things that pertain to 
tli is life?" He says: "I speak to your shame. Is it so, 
that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that 
shall be able to judge between his brethren?" He proceeds 
to charge them: "There is utterly a fault among you, be- 
cause you go to law with one another;" and inquires of 
them, "Why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be de- 
frauded?" He proceeds further sharply to rebuke them: 
"Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the 
kingdom of God?" What a warning this ought to be to 
all those groveling lovers of money or property, who will 
disgrace themselves and their brethren by going to law be- 
fore unbelievers, in adjudicating pecuniary differences, rather 
than to refer it to their brethren ! 

Another disorder among them consisted in desecrating the 
worship, by substituting a pagan feast for the communion; 
and, instead of coming together on the first day of the week 
to break the loaf in commemoration of the Lord's death, 
they came together to participate in a bacchanalian feast. 
They did not even wait one for another, but rushed together 
in the utmost disorder, ate and drank to gluttony and 
drunkenness in the house of the Lord. To this you will 
find reference in the eleventh chapter. In speaking of the 
manner in which they came together, he says: "When you 
come together, therefore, in one place, it is not to eat the 
Lord's supper. For, in eating, every one takes before other 



414 THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 

his own supper: and one is hungry and another is drunken 
What! have you not bouses to eat and drink in? or despise 
you the Church of God, and shame them that have not?" 
"What a standing warning this is to those who desecrate 
the worship of God, by feasts in the church, or any other 
means ! He proceeds : " What shall I say to you ? shall I 
praise you in this ? I praise you not." He proceeds to lay 
before them what he had received of the Lord Jesus, and 
what he had delivered to them. Alluding to what he had 
delivered and commanded them to do, he adds: "For as 
often as you eat of this loaf, and drink of this cup, you do 
show the Lord's death till he comes.' 1 But he presently 
proceeds with that which is more solemn: "Whoever shall 
eat of this loaf, or drink of this cup of the Lord unworthily, 
shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." 

Many conscientious and well-meaning people have taken 
this passage wrong. They have, in many instances, so far 
mistaken the intention of this language as to refuse to do pre- 
cisely what he commanded. They have supposed that eating 
and drinking unworthily was eating and drinking when they 
were oppressed in spirits or cast down, a little desponding, 
and when the pathway did not appear as bright as at other 
times. They then refused to partake, for fear of eating 
and drinking condemnation. But this is not what the 
apostle means. They who eat and drink to gluttony and 
drunkenness in the Lord's house, as the Corinthians did, not 
discerning the Lord's body and blood, eat and drink con- 
demnation, and not the meek and humble, the cast down 
and timid, ever fearful of doing wrong. The vain and 
proud, the puffed up and conceited, who rushed together 
thoughtlessly, with light and frivolous hearts, ate and drank, 
laughed and talked, not discerning the Lord's body and blood , 
ate and drank condemnation. These the apostle rebukes. 
" What! " says he, " have you not houses to cat and to drink 



THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 415 

in ? or despise you the Church of God, and shame them that 
have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you 
in this? I praise you not." On account of this desecra- 
tion of the Lord's worship — this feasting, instead of par- 
taking of the simple emblems of the Lord's body and blood, 
the loaf and cup — many among them were weak and sickly, 
and some had died. It was during miracles, and in the 
midst of their numerous gifts of prophecy, tongues, heal- 
ing, etc., the Lord sent visible judgments on them as divine 
attestations of his disapprobation of their procedure. During 
this period there were two classes of miracles — one class 
evincing the Lord's approval of the right, and the other 
his disapproval of the wrong. The miraculous judgment 
sent on Ananias and his wife, as recorded Acts v: 1-10, 
was a visible divine demonstration of God's disapprobation 
of their conduct, in their lying pretense that they were 
giving the whole proceeds of the sale of the possession sold, 
when they were keeping back a part of it. This awful 
divine demonstration was given that it might be recorded 
and read by the children of God till the end of time, as a 
warning. No matter if we do live beyond the age of mir- 
acles, and no such judgment would fall on us now if we 
should do such a deed, still this would stand as a warning 
of God's disapproval and the eternal judgment he will 
finally pronounce. On the other hand, the miracle at the 
death of Stephen — of the heavens opening, and his seeing 
Jesus standing on the right hand of God — was a divine 
manifestation of God's approval of his good action, in 
preaching Jesus and withstanding the Jews. This, also, is 
now a matter of record, showing, to all who read the ac- 
count, God's approval of that righteous man, and all like 
him, for standing for the Gospel of Christ till the end of 
time. So, also, the judgments sent on the Corinthians, on 
account of the desecration of the divinely appointed wor- 



416 THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 

ship, has been committed to the record, that it may be read 
by all the children of God till the end of time. 

In the fifteenth chapter, the apostle refers to certain 
teachers, who probably had been proselyted from the sect 
of the Sadducees who denied the resurrection of the dead. 
These men were creating dissension and subverting the very 
foundation of the faith, as the apostle clearly shows. For 
if there is no resurrection, then Christ has not risen. If 
Christ has not risen, then the apostolic preaching is vain 
or useless, for it is all false; for they preached that Christ 
had risen and become the first fruits of them that slept. 
Then their faith was vain, for it was only the belief of a 
falsehood, and could not justify the sinner. In that case 
they were yet in their sins, and those who had fallen asleep 
in Christ had perished. The apostles, in that case, were 
of all men most miserable, for they had given up this world, 
and, without the resurrection of the dead, they were stripped 
of all hope in the world to come. 

Now, the way is clear to take a look at the Church in 
Corinth, as it was at the time when this letter was written. 
Try and bring it before the mind as it was then, with schism 
at work in it, almost divided into three or four parts on 
account of their preferences and partialities for their preach- 
ers — some of them for Paul, some for Apollos, and some for 
Cephas, or Peter, a debased and corrupt creature in human 
form, who had his father's wife in it; brethren going to 
law with brethren before unbelievers; the communion 
turned into a pagan feast; members eating and drinking to 
gluttony and drunkenness in the Church of God; public 
teachers among them denying the resurrection of the dead. 
Besides these great evils, there were other irregularities of 
a very grievous and disorderly nature. Their prophets 
were in the habit of speaking two or three at a time, in as 
many different tongues, with a class of women, inquiring 



THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 417 

into things that did not belong to them, or at least was 
not their place to inquire into in public worship. 

Now, several things here are of great practical importance 
to us. In the first place, suppose you had come up just as 
Paul had completed this letter, and seen that he was writing 
all these things down in it, would you not have begged him 
to leave them out? Would you not have inquired, Brother 
Paul, where is this letter to be read, and by whom? He 
would have informed you, In all the world, by all Chris- 
tians and civilized people till the end of time. Would you 
not have expostulated with him, by all means to leave some 
of those unpleasant and even disgraceful things out of his 
letter? Would you not have feared that it would be an 
injury to the Church and the cause to have this published 
thus among all people and in all time? Precisely the op- 
posite would have been the result. The leaving of these 
things out would have shown an utter unfaithfulness on the 
part of the apostle, the disposition of a mere pretender and 
hypocrite, in passing over corruptions and keeping them 
from the world. The Lord makes faithful record, and there 
is but one way to keep bad things out of his record con- 
cerning us. That way is to keep these bad things out of 
our lives. The Lord, in the holy history, would not turn 
aside from faithful record to leave out the flaws in the life 
of Noah, the life of Abraham, or of David. Nor would he 
obscure from the view of the world the faults even of the 
apostles themselves. They are faithfully put down, not 
as any thing chargeable to the cause of righteousness, but 
chargeable to the weakness and imperfections of men — even 
the greatest and best of men. 

But is it not an advantage to us that these things axe in 
the record? Is it not of incalculable value that Paul has 
been thus faithful in reference to these evils? Surely it 
is. It is of importance, in several respects, to us now. We 



418 THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 

should know fully the mind of the Lord in reference to all 
these evils, and how to deal with them. In addition to 
this, all men of extended experience in these matters have 
found the utter impossibility of attaining to any thing like 
absolute purity and perfection as churches; that when the best 
efforts are made by the best men to bring humanity up to 
the standard of absolute purity and perfection, they fall 
short; that all is not love, harmony, unity, and peace. 
There will still be evils found. When men have the ex- 
perience to know this, and to become fully satisfied that, 
after the best efforts are made for humanity, it is found to 
be utterly unavoidable, they need another part of the pro- 
gramme to give them relief. If all these things had been 
left out of the apostolic letters, and no allusion had been 
made to any thing but absolute purity and perfection, love 
and harmony, peace and prosperity, they would have become 
discouraged, and concluded that they never could bring a 
church up to the example set us by the first churches. But 
now, sit down and read the letter under consideration ; bring 
the Church in Corinth before you with as full a comprehen- 
sion of all there was in it as possible, and inquire whether 
we have not succeeded in bringing many churches to a 
higher degree of perfection, a greater unity and harmony, 
more love and peace than existed in the Church in Corinth. 
You will find that, without any flattery, deception, or con- 
ceit, you can conscientiously say we have. There is not a 
doubt that we have many churches now much better in all 
that pertains to the kingdom of God and the name of Christ 
than the churches in the time of the apostles were. 

How, then, did Paul address this church and look on it 
with all these evils in it? Did he denounce it, declare it no 
church, and turn his back on it? By no means, but ad- 
dressed it affectionately as "the Church of God which is 
in Corinth, those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints." 



THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 419 

Hear him again : " I thank my God always on your behalf, 
for the grace of God which was given to me in Christ Jesus." 
This shows that he recognized it as "the Church of God 
in Corinth/' knowing all the evils in it. JSor is there 
any apology for sin in this, or any excuse for disorders or 
delinquencies; but there is in it an encouragement for good 
men who labor for purity, love, and harmony, but can not 
bring the Church up to the standard as fully as they desire. 
They can see that, under the very eyes of the apostles, and 
in spite of all their prayers and tears, their solemn solici- 
tudes and anxieties, their holy teaching and exhortations, 
these wonderful evils and disorders existed. Then they 
need not be discouraged, despondent, or cast down if they 
encounter similar things in their own experience. In this 
there is no excuse for indifference, inefficiency, or careless- 
ness in keeping the Church in order, purging out the old 
leaven or maintaining purity, but an encouragement to 
those who labor for the highest degree of purity and per- 
fection but can not reach it. 

In the same way, if there was a sharp difference between 
these two great and good men, Paul and Barnabas, so that 
they parted asunder, one going one way and the other an- 
other, or a difference between such men as Peter and Paul, 
while it is no excuse for good men to differ now or encour- 
agement for them to do so, there is this encouragement in it — 
that nothing serious happened to the kingdom of God on 
account of it, an evidence that the common weaknesses of 
humanity existed in the best men in the world then the 
same as they do now. There is no need, therefore, of the 
childish alarm so frequently evinced among brethren when 
any dispute comes up among good men. These differences 
never sundered their fellowship or sent one man off with 
one faction and the other with another; but while one man 
went one way and the other went another, they both preached 



420 THE CHURCH -ITS PURITY. 

the same Gospel, maintained and advocated the same cause, 
and remained in the same body. They did not rend the 
Church and scatter the disciples with their differences. So 
it is now. Differences come up between good men; they 
discuss them, and go on in the same body, preaching the 
same Gospel, and maintaining the same faith. They stand 
in the same fellowship — the same communion. 

But now another practical point must be made. What 
would you do if you belonged to such a church as the one 
in Corinth? "I would call for a letter," says a man. "I 
would not remain in such a church." Why would you 
want a letter? "I would not fellowship such a church." 
What kind of a letter would you have the church give you? 
Would you have the church give you a letter commend- 
ing their "dear brother, in good standing and full fellow- 
ship," while you are going away because you can not fellow- 
ship the church? No, sir; they can not, in good faith, give 
you a letter. If you can not, in good faith, recognize and 
fellowship the church, it certainly can not, in good faith, 
recognize you. a I would then leave without a letter." Xo, 
dear brother; that is neither manly nor Christian. When 
danger comes, the hour of trouble, every good member is 
needed. Every man that deserts his post then, and retires 
from the field, shows his want of integrity to the cause. The 
Lord's plan is to retain the good, the pure, and the holy, 
and put away the evil, the corrupt. This is one clear differ- 
ence between the true Church and Antichrist: the true 
Church puts away the corrupt and vicious and retains the 
good. 

The Romish Church, the apostate Church, or man of sin, 
cuts off the good and retains the corrupt within. Bishop 
Purcell admitted, in the discussion with Alexander Camp- 
bell, that he had no doubt that some of the wicked Popes 
were suffering the penal fires of hell at the time he spoke. 



THE CHFECH— ITS PUPJTY. 421 

Still these corrupt men, whom even he would not defend, 
were not only retained in the Church, but at the head of the 
Church, while such men as Luther were cut off. The com- 
mandment of God is to "purge out the old leaven." "'Put 
away the wicked person from among you." 

u But I can live a Christian out of the Church." Are you 
sure of that? Why, then, did the Lord establish the Church ? 
But suppose all the members would adopt your plan of liv- 
ing out of the Church; where would the Church be? It 
would destroy the Church from the race of the earth. Can 
a man live a Christian life and take such a course as would 
result in sweeping the Church from the face of the earth? 
Certainly not. TThere would the ordinances be, then? Where 
would the preaching of the Gospel be? Where would the 
Bible itself be in that case? Xo; no one can live a Chris- 
tian life out of the Church. Leave all the good out of the 
Church, and the Church is swept from the earth. The light 
from God is extinguished, and the world is left in ruins. 
The man who acts in such a way as would destroy the Church 
entirely from the earth if all should follow him, whether he 
intended it or not, is the enemy of the Church. But we need 
no such reasoning to show the importance of the Church. 
The Lord ordained it. That settles the question of its ne- 
cessity. The man that proposes to live out of the Church, 
whether he means precisely that or not, substantially de- 
clares that he can do as well, and not follow the wisdom of 
God, as to follow it; that the Church which the Lord founded 
is an unimportant affair, and he can get along very well with- 
out it. This is utterly reckless. Suppose you could pos- 
sibly live a Christian out of the Church. An old brick, ly- 
ing in the street, is a brick as certainly as a brick in a good 
building; but what good is it doing, first knocked to this 
side, and then to that side of the street, liable to be run over 
by every old cart that comes along? It is doing about as 



422 THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 

much good as the man is doing who claims to be a Chris- 
tian but lives out of the Church. 

But now, how did the Church in Corinth get into such a 
condition? This is a matter of importance, and demands at- 
tention. The Church was proud and boastful, with all the 
evils in it enumerated. Do you inquire how this could be? 
It occurred in this way: It abounded with supernatural 
gifts, having a great number of gifts of healing, tongues, in- 
terpretation of tongues, prophecy, etc. On account of these 
gifts, it was puffed up, boastful, and proud, when it had rea- 
son for mourning and grief. The argument, on the part of 
the Church, was brief. It amounted to this : ^Ve have more 
gifts of healing, prophecy, tongues, etc., than any other 
church, and are, therefore, better, enjoying the divine favor 
more largely. How humiliating to their pride it was to 
have the apostle say to them, in view of all their pride, boast- 
ing, and conceit, based on the abundance of their gifts, 
" Though I have the tongues of men and of angels, and have 
not love, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cym- 
bal." Some versions have the word "charity'' here; but 
any person can see that the apostle does not mean charity, 
for he adds below, " though I give all my goods to feed the 
poor, and have not love, I am nothing." He could not 
bestow all his goods to feed the poor and not have charity. 
This would be the very embodiment of charity. But Paul's 
climax is, that though a man give all his goods to feed the 
poor, and even his body to be burned, and have not love, he 
is nothing. He still strikes a more fatal blow: "Though I 
have all faith, so as to remove mountains, and have not love, 
I am nothing." This is the best definition of a faith i 
man found in any book. A man may not only have faith, 
but all faith, so as to remove mountains, and because \\v has 
not love with it, he is nothing. As if the apostle had said: 
You have boasted of your supernatural gifts; your proph- 



THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 423 

ecies, tongues, knowledge, etc., and been puffed up; but you 
may have all these gifts, you may have the tongues of men and 
of angels, the gift of prophecy, all knowledge, you may have 
faith so that you can remove mountains, give all your goods 
to feed the poor and your bodies to be consumed, as martyrs 
in the flames, but if you have not love, you are nothing. 

Why does he thus speak? Because, at the very time when 
these miraculous gifts abounded in their midst, and they 
were boasting of them and glorying in them, they had not 
love enough to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond 
of peace; to restrain them from shouting for their favorite 
man, "I am for Paul, I for Apollos, and I for Cephas;" not 
love to God and the cause enough to put away a corrupt man 
from their midst; to restrain them from going to law, brother 
with brother, before infidels; nor to induce them to main- 
tain, in its purity, the communion of the blood and body of 
the Lord; nor to maintain the confidence that God will raise 
the dead; and, with all your miraculous gifts, and -without 
this love, you are an empty sound. Truly was this wither- 
ing on those proud and boastful men. 

The apostle then determines to make them appreciate the 
importance of love, and proceeds to personify it, and speak 
of it as if it were a member of the Church. In doing so, he 
tells what love will do and what it will not do. He specifies 
seven things that love will do, as follows : 1. "Suffers long." 
2. "Is kind." 3. "Rejoices in the truth." 4. "Bears all 
things." 5. " Believes all things." 6. " Hopes all things." 
7. " Endures all things." He also specifies nine things that 
love will not do, as follows : 1. "Envies not." 2. "Vaunts 
not itself." 3. "Is not puffed up." 4. "Does not behave 
itself unseemly." 5. "Seeks not its own." 6. "Is not 
easily provoked." 7. "Imputes no evil." 8. "Rejoices not 
in unrighteousness." 9. " Never fails." If you fear that 
you have not this love, look over this list, and if you can 



424 THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 

say, honestly, I will do each of the seven things which the 
apostle says love will do, and will not do each of the nine 
things he says love will not do, yon have the love of which 
he speaks. Here is a beautiful chance for self-examination. 
All pious persons exercise much self-examination. In this 
they can use great freedom. They can enter into the very 
motives, the very thoughts and intents of the heart; make 
the examination most rigorous and scrutinizing. What a 
beautiful exercise it would be for a disciple of the Lord to 
retire to some quiet seclusion, with the New Testament open 
at this passage, and, after a fervent prayer for the Lord's 
help in obtaining a clear understanding of the whole matter 
and practical application, commence and go over, item by 
item, the seven things which love will do, and the nine 
which it will not do! This would be communing with and 
learning of God. This is piety. 

A careful comment on each one of these items is not to 
be expected here; but since so much is said about what is 
needful in keeping churches in order and making them 
successful, etc., a few words in a general way will not come 
amiss here. Some think we need some special kind of a 
preacher in order to success. Others think we need better 
qualified overseers, and others are proposing some improve- 
ment in deacons. Some are for more rigorous discipline. 
Xo doubt there may be improvement in all these depart- 
ments. In many instances the main improvement is needed 
on the part of the members. In some instances, they turn 
off a preacher and get a new one with profit. Still, there 
are some other instances in which they need about as much 
to turn off the church and get a new one. In deliberative 
bodies they sometimes form themselves into a committee of the 
whole, in the consideration of an important matter. If any 
one would see how easily a church ought to be managed, 
suppose the church would appoint each member a committee 



THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 425 

of one to oversee, look after, and take care of one member ; 
this would reach and provide for all the members. Then, 
many talented and influential members would think this too 
little; that their talents and influence would not find scope 
in such a narrow circle. But, then, the proposition is to 
have the work done well. In order to do this you only need 
oversee one, if all the members do their part of the work, 
to oversee the whole church. Do you say that you desire 
the one you are appointed to look after and oversee shall be 
near by, so that you can attend to the work faithfully with- 
out unnecessary loss of time or labor? That is well thought 
of, and should, by all means, be taken into the account in 
appointing. It would be a matter of great convenience to 
have it arranged so that you could be present in the business 
department at every meal you eat, in the domestic circle, 
and, indeed, all the time, that you may exercise the most care- 
ful oversight. It should be some one whom you love dearly, 
and for whose salvation you have a deep interest. To ac- 
commodate you in all these respects, the church should ap- 
point you to oversee and look after yourself. You can then 
always be present to witness every impropriety, idle word, 
and foolish thought; offer rebukes, interpose restraints, ad- 
minister corrections, etc. You can then always administer 
reproofs in kindness, love, and affection, so that they may 
give no offense, but bring forth the fruits of righteousness. 
This is not intended to set aside all necessity for preachers, 
overseers, and deacons, but to assist them and render their 
work much more light and less difficult than it would oth- 
erwise be. 

Love is the all-prevailing element for maintaining order, 
peace, and harmony in the Church. Where it does not 
abound, all is dull, formal, and lifeless. There may be a 
mechanical management according to rule — a kind of con- 
formity without it, but the enjoyment is not there without it. 
36 



426 THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 

"It is the golden chain that binds 
The happy souls above ; 
And he's an heir of heaven that finds 
His bosom glow with love." 

One of its chief glories is, that " it never fails." " "Whether 
there shall be prophecies, they shall cease; whether there 
be tongues, they shall fail ; whether there be knowledge, 
it shall vanish away." But love never fails. As if the 
apostle had said : You Corinthians are boastful, conceited, 
and puffed up on account of your abundance of spiritual 
gifts, but all this belongs to the infancy of Christianity, the 
creative and formative period ; but when the stature of man- 
hood shall come; when this creative and formative period 
shall cease; when the revelation shall be complete, and a 
state of maturity shall be reached, these gifts, employed in 
the incipiency of things, shall all pass away. Then I will 
show you a more excellent way. 

Every thing in this universe had its beginning in miracle. 
The first human pair were brought into existence by a mir- 
acle. The human race begun by direct supernatural power, 
but has been perpetuated by the natural; began by direct 
extraordinary power, but has been perpetuated by the iudi- 
rect and ordinary power. It required a miracle to bring 
the first man and woman into existence, but no miracle for 
all other men and women to descend from these. It re- 
quired a direct exertion of supernatural power to bring into 
existence the first oak-tree, but it is only the operation of 
natural power for an oak-tree to produce an acorn, and fin 
another oak-tree to spring from that acorn, and so on down 
through all the generations of oak-trees to the last one that 
shall ever grow. God created man, and breathed into his 
nostrils the breath of life. This was a miracle. From the I 
flesh and bone of this man the Lord formed the first woman. 
This was a miracle also. But he never brought into exist- 



THE CHUECH— ITS PURITY. 427 

ence another human pair by a miracle. The race have all 
descended from this first pair without a miracle. They 
originated in supernatural power, but have been perpetuated 
by natural power. They came into existence by extraor- 
dinary means, but the race has been perpetuated from them 
down by ordinary means. Every species of the creation of 
God had its origin in extraordinary power or means, but 
has been perpetuated by ordinary means. In the same way 
the Church of the living God was a new creation. It was 
brought into existence by a miracle, but has been perpetu- 
ated without miracle. It was created, and the breath of life 
breathed into it by miracle, but no church is now created 
and life breathed into it in the same way, but the Church 
has been perpetuated from the original Church. It origi- 
nated in extraordinary power, but has been perpetuated by 
ordinary power. Miracles were, therefore, necessary in 
bringing the Church into existence, establishing and con- 
firming it, but not necessary in perpetuating it. The bring- 
ing it into existence, establishing and confirming it among 
men, required extraordinary means, but not required in per- 
petuating it. 

The supernatural gifts were, therefore, demanded in the 
creative period, but belonged to the infancy of the Church ; 
hence the apostle, in allusion to this, says : " When I was a 
child I spoke as a child, I thought as a child, I had the 
understanding of a child ; but when I became a man, I put 
away childish things." These gifts pertained to the infancy 
of the Church; but when the Church and revelation came 
to maturity, those things that pertained to the incipient state 
were taken away. The more excellent way was introduced, 
and prophecies foiled, tongues ceased', and the supernatural 
gift of knowledge was done away. Now faith, hope, and 
love remain ; but the greatest of these is love. How weak 
and foolish it was, then, for the disciples in Corinth to be 



428 THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 

carried away by their abundance of spiritual gifts ; to become 
proud and boastful on account of these gifts, while they had 
not the love to maintain the purity of the Church. In the 
same way, how vain and foolish it is for any church to be 
puffed up by fine gifts of an ordinary character, now that 
the extraordinary is done away, and not be under the influ- 
ence of the love of Christ! Some have vainly imagined 
that these gifts ceased through unbelief; but that can not 
be so, for in the same connection, where he says these mir- 
aculous gifts shall cease, he says: "Xow abide faith, hope, 
love; but the greatest of these is love." This way when 
these gifts shall cease, and faith, hope, and love abide, he 
calls "a more excellent way," in the close of the chapter 
preceding this. 

The first public instructors in the Church were made such, 
or qualified for their work, in an extraordinary manner, but 
since these gifts ceased, men are qualified for the same work 
in an ordinary manner. The Lord said, in the great inter- 
cessory prayer, John xvii : 8, " The words which thou gavest 
me I have given them;" that is, the apostles. They were 
qualified for making a revelation by miracle. The Lord 
gave them the word which the Father gave him. This same 
word they gave to others. Hence, Paul says to Timothy, 
"The things which you have heard of me, in the presence 
of many witnesses, the same do you commit to faithful nun, 
who shall be able to teach others also." The Lord, by in- 
spiration, or by extraordinary means, made the revelation 
to the apostles; but without any miracle, in the ordinary 
way of teaching, the same things were communicated to 
Timothy and others like him. Timothy and other evangelists 
were qualified in the ordinary way, by hearing and receiv- 
ing the things the apostles taught ; and, in the same manner, 
qualified others. Hence, the command of the apostle to 
Timothy, to give himself to reading, to meditation, etc., and 



THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 429 

not to look for immediate revelation. Such men as Tim- 
othy, reared up under the apostles, and qualified by ordinary 
instruction, were required to devote themselves to study, 
reading, and meditation, to prepare them for their great 
work. But the Lord expressly commanded the apostles 
not to meditate beforehand what they should say, and re- 
quired them to depend wholly on supernatural aid, or in- 
spiration, for what they were to utter; and that, too, in the 
most perilous and critical trials through which they should 
be called to pass, especially when they should be called to 
stand before kings and governors on trial for preaching 
Jesus. They depended, not on the amount they knew, any 
human talent, learning, or ability, in making their defense, 
or in opening up the will of God to man, but on the super- 
natural power that was in them, the miraculous inspiration 
of the Spirit of God. What they uttered was revelation 
from God. They did not prove their teaching by argument 
or Scripture, as a general rule, but proved by divine and 
indisputable demonstrations of supernatural power that they 
were divinely called and sent — that the words spoken by 
them were not their words, but the words of the Spirit of 
God; not the words spoken by man's wisdom, but the 
words spoken by the wisdom of the Spirit of God. When 
such men as Timothy, Titus, Barnabas, Apollos, Mark, 
Luke, etc., spoke, they uttered the things which they had 
heard and learned of the apostles. It w T as, therefore neces- 
sary that they should have given themselves to reading, 
meditation, study, that they might show themselves approved 
of God, workmen who need not be ashamed, rightly setting 
forth the word of truth. But the proof they gave that 
what they uttered was from God, was that they had ob- 
tained it from the apostles, and not that they were inspired 
men, as the apostles were, and spoke by authority, as the 
apostles did. No man in our time can reach a higher po- 



430 THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 

sition than this. We have no embassadors of Christ now, 
no apostles of Christ, no inspired men. None now are mi- 
raculously called and sent. There are no proofs to show 
that what we preach is from God, if they are not the things 
taught by the apostles. We prove nothing now by claim- 
ing to be specially called and sent, as the apostles were; 
that we speak by inspiration, as they did, except that we 
are impostors. We receive all the apostles taught implic- 
itly, being assured that they were under the influence of the 
infallible inspiration of God, their divine claims being con- 
tinually confirmed by the most grand, imposing, and stu- 
pendous displays of miraculous power. The promise of 
Jesus, " Lo, I am with you always," was verified to them 
in the continual performance of miracles. 

But if it was weak and childish for the Corinthian disci- 
ples to be proud of those sublime spiritual gifts, such as 
prophecies, tongues, wisdom, etc., of a miraculous character, 
what shall be said of the man now, or the church, proud of 
ordinary gifts, as learning, talent, influence, etc., and puffed 
up, conceited, and inflated? These ordinary gifts are from 
God. What has any man that he did not receive? Yet 
there are men and churches proud, puffed up, and conceited 
on account of these ordinary gifts, and not possessing love 
enough for Christ, the children of God, and the cause, to 
maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; not 
love enough to stand for purity, the harmony, and the ad- 
vancement of the cause; not love enough for Christ to put 
away corrupt persons from their midst; to prevent them 
from litigations before the civil courts — having pagan feasts 
in the church, or the denial of the resurrection of the dead. 
What an abandonment of all that is pure and lovely — of all 
that is holy, just, and good! 

The supernatural gifts of the original Church have long 
since all passed away. They served the purpose for which 



THE CHURCH— ITS PURITY. 431 

they were intended, and, according to the will of God, 
ceased. So, also, shall the finest ordinary gifts possessed by 
man all cease. They shall all fail. In the same way, all 
that we possess shall fail. Houses, lands, moneys, goods, 
and chattels of every sort, shall all be nothing to us in a 
short time. All earthly friends must also fail us. Even 
faith itself shall culminate in actual knowledge. The things 
that we now enjoy by faith we shall then enjoy by sight. 
Hope shall also be swallowed up in real possession. That 
which we now hope for we shall then actually possess. 
What, then, have we now that we shall carry with us ? "We 
have that wonderful love of which the apostle speaks, and 
shall have it forever. It is stronger than death. It first 
moved our hearts to turn to God. We love God because 
he first loved us. The same love that first moved us to turn 
to the Lord, has moved us in every righteous effort, every 
holy impulse, every prayer, every song, every time we have 
gone to the house of God, from the day we confessed the 
Savior till now ; and shall move our hearts in all that is holy, 
just, and good till we die. In the hour of death it shall 
dwell in us richly, in joy and peace inexpressible. It shall 
dwell in us forever and ever. It binds in holy union and 
oneness all the heavenly hosts. Its years are the years of 
God. It shall last co-existent with the Infinite One himself. 
Let it, then, rule in our hearts, reign over us, and abide for- 
ever and ever. 

Love is the golden link connecting the good on earth with 
the heavenly hosts, binding the whole family, in heaven and 
on earth, in one pure and holy union, communion, and fel- 
lowship — in the same spirit, the same mind, and the same 
judgment. It shall never fail. When health fails, when 
earthly friends fail, when property fails, when life fails, when 
we shall cross the cold and chilly river of death, and sink 
into the grave, love shall not fail. Beyond the rolling river 



432 THE CHURCH-ITS PURITY. 

it shall live and abound forever and ever. Happy are the 
saints under its hallowed influence. Happy are all the 
heavenly hosts, animated and bound together by it. Happy 
shall be all the pure in heart forever and ever, for it shall 
never fail them. 

But what is the prospect of the human being not under 
the influence of this love? Truly, it is gloomy for such. 
They are without the greatest comfort now in existence for 
man; in a cold and cheerless world, with death before them, 
the judgment and etermity — not a ray of light nor a gleam 
of day. No heart animated by love! No hope, and without 
God in the world! Eternal night lies away in the wonder- 
ful future! Can any intelligent man or woman live in such 
a state of gloom — not a promise, not a hope — all dark and 
threatening? Come, be entreated by all that is kind and 
lovely, to turn away from the vanities and follies of a world 
of sin, and give yourselves to him who is the way, the truth, 
and the life, and be happy forever. " He is the chief among 
all the ten thousands, and altogether lovely." 



SERMON, No. XVIII. 

THEME.-THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST AND THE DESTRUCTION OE THE 

WORLD. 

Text—" But the day of the Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens 
shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with 
fervent heat, and the earth, and the works that are in it, shall be 
burned up."— 2 Pet. iii : 10. 

The first thing to which the attention of the hearer is 
invited, is the description given by the apostle of the men 
who should come in the last days — false teachers. He says, 
"There will come in the last days scoffers." "The last 
days," here, can not be the last days of the Jewish dispen- 
sation, for these had passed away some thirty or thirty-five 
years before the apostle wrote. They are evidently the "last 
days" of the Christian dispensation. But what kind of a 
description does he give of these men? He deliberately 
writes them down as " scoffers," and gives us a specimen of 
their logic. They shall insincerely, scoffingly, and in de- 
rision say, " Where is the promise of his coming? " They 
will argue that there can be no promise of his coming, "for 
since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were 
from the beginning of the creation." These men walk after 
their own lusts or their own desires. They receive noth- 
ing, because the Lord has said it, but are led by their own 
carnal desires, believing simply what they desire to believe. 
But the apostle says " They are willingly ignorant of this, 
37 (433) 



434 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 

that by the word of God the heavens of old had their being', 
as also the earth, consisting of water and subsisting by water : 
by which things the world that then was, having been over- 
flowed with water, perished." These grand events in the 
world's history willfully escape their attention, and they 
stupidly and blindly assert that " all things continue as they 
were from the beginning of the creation." This is not only 
blindness, but willful blindness. They have lost sight of 
the overthrow of the monarch of Egypt, the "vessel of 
wrath," raised up that God's power might be known in all 
the earth ; the destruction of the antediluvian world, of 
Sodom, Tyre, and Sidon, and the overthrow of the Jews, 
and their dispersion among all nations, till the times of 
the Gentiles be fulfilled. All these wonderful events have 
escaped their attention, and they are the blind and willing 
slaves of passion and bigotry. They can see no promise of 
his coming. True, the threatenings of God had been ful- 
filled to the letter; his divine judgments executed, with the 
most stupendous displays of his wrath and vengeance on the 
nations and peoples who despised his authority; but the 
coming of the Lord, to raise the dead and judge the world; 
" to take vengeance on them who know jiot God, and obey 
not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ; " to " punish them 
with an everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord 
and the glory of his power," they maintain can never occur. 
With the scoffers of the last days it avails nothing if the 
angels did say, "This Jesus, who has been taken up from 
you into heaven, shall come in the same manner in which 
you saw him go into heaven." See Acts i: 11. Nor does 
it amount to any thing with them that Paul speaks of "the 
revelation of our Lord Jesus from heaven, with his mighty 
angels, in flaming fire, to take vengeance on them who know- 
not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ," 
as we read, 2 Thess. i: 7; nor yet does it avail any thing 



AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD. 435 

with them that the Lord himself has said, as we read, 
Matt, xxv : 31, that "the Son of Man shall come in his 
own glory, and all the holy angels with him," and that 
" he will sit on the throne of his own glory, and all nations 
shall be gathered before him ; and he shall separate them, 
one from another, as a shepherd separates his sheep from 
the goats." All these scriptures, and numerous others, go 
for nothing with the hardened scoffer. How different the 
spirit of the holy John, when he penned the last words of 
the New Testament, " Come, Lord Jesus ! " 

But there is another class of scoffers that this discourse has 
to do with. They say the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ 
has long since occurred — that he came the second time at 
the destruction of Jerusalem ; that he there judged the world ; 
separated the righteous from the wicked, and, consequently, 
argue that the coming of Christ, the judgment, and punish- 
ment of the wicked are all long since gone by. This fallacy 
must now be refuted. It must be shown that the coming of 
the Lord is yet future. 

1. The first scripture to which reference is made for this 
purpose is found Acts iii : 19 : " Repent, therefore, and turn, 
in order that your sins may be blotted out, so that season of 
refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord ; and that 
he may send Jesus Christ, who was destined for you : whom 
heaven must retain till the times of restitution of all things, 
which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets, 
since the beginning of time." 

Those who say the coming of Christ is passed, say that 
" restitution " in this passage means salvation, and that " res- 
titution of all things" is salvation of all men, for, they say, 
" all things " certainly includes all men. Take them first on 
their own ground, that " restitution of all things " means 
salvation of all men, or that it at least includes the salva- 
tion of all. How long, then, is the heaven to retain Jesus 



436 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 

Christ ? " Till the restitution of all things/' or the salvation 
of all men? Is their salvation of all men past or future? 
Did their salvation of all men occur before the destruction 
of Jerusalem? Peter said, some forty years before the de- 
struction of Jerusalem, of Christ: " Whom the heaven must 
retain till the times of restitution of all things." If, then, 
the " restitution of all things " means or includes the salva- 
tion of all men, and if the heaven must retain Jesus Christ 
till the restitution of all things, Jesus Christ did not come 
at the destruction of Jerusalem, or at any other time between 
then and now, for it is incontrovertibly certain that the sal- 
vation of all men has not come. But the Universalist says 
that no man shall stand on his own ground and argue. Then 
look at the case from the true ground. What, then, is the 
meaning of "restitution of all things?" It is evident that 
" restitution n does not mean salvation by the following 
part of the connection. You readily inquire, "Restitution 
of what?" The Universalist replies, "Restitution of all 
things." All what things ? Does the apostle mean abso- 
lutely all things, or " all things " of a certain class which he 
describes ? "All things " of a described class. You must 
not quote the passage in the popular style, as follows : "All 
things," etc., but you must follow up, with inquiry, All what 
things ? The apostle answers : "All things which God has 
spoJcen by the mouth of his holy prophet? since the beginning 
of time." This shows that restitution does not mean salva- 
tion. It makes no sense to talk of the salvation of all things 
which God has spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets, 
for the "things which God has spoken" have never been 
lost, and there is no souse in speaking of the salvation of that 
which was never lost. There are but two ways in which the 
language can be taken with intelligence: 1. "Whom the 
heaven must retain till the times of accomjilishment or fulfill- 
ment of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all 



AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD. 437 

his holy prophets." 2. " Whom the heaven must receive till 
the times of restoration of all things which God has prom- 
ised by the mouth of all his holy prophets since time began." 
This latter is most probably the true meaning. The apostle 
then says of Jesus Christ, " Whom the heaven must receive 
till the times of restoration of all things promised by all 
the holy prophets." This proves, beyond doubt, that he did 
not come at the destruction of Jerusalem, and that he has 
not come at any time between that time and the present ; 
for the heaven must retain him till the restoration of all 
things promised by all his holy prophets, and certainly the 
restoration of all things promised by all his holy prophets 
has never yet come. 

2. Please hear the great apostle to the Gentiles: "But 
we beseech you, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, and our coming together to him, that you be 
not hastily shaken from the persuasion of your mind, nor 
be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by report, nor by letter 
as written by us, as though the day of the Lord is at hand." 
2 Thess. ii : 1,2. Now, at what period did the apostle stand 
when he wrote this? Certainly not more than sixteen years 
before the destruction of Jerusalem. If, then, the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem was only sixteen years off, and the coming 
of the Lord was to be at the same time, was it not proper 
to say " The day of the Lord is at hand ? " Certainly when 
an event of that kind is within sixteen years of us, it is at 
hand. But it was false then to say " the day of the Lord 
is at hand,*" and in view of some saying this, Paul said: 
" Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall 
not come, unless tlte apostasy come first, and the man of sin 
be revealed, the son of perdition ; who opposes and exalts 
himself above every one that is called God, or that is wor- 
shiped ; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, openly 
showing himself that he is God." 2 Thess. ii : 3, 4. This 



438 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 

puts an end to all idea of the .Lord coming at the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem, for the apostle asserts roundly that "that 
day -shall not come unless the apostasy comes first." The 
apostasy, or " mystery of iniquity," was only beginning to 
work when Paul wrote this letter. This " apostasy," de- 
scribed in the same connection as the "man of sin," the 
" son of perdition," was to be fully revealed before the com- 
ing of the Lord, but the proper time for his full develop- 
ment had not come when Paul wrote. The restraining 
power was in the way, and would continue to restrain till 
he would be taken out of the way. This " man of sin," 
"son of perdition," "lawless one," is unquestionably the 
great Romish apostasy, " whom the Lord Jesus will destroy 
by the spirit of his mouth, and will utterly overthrow by 
the brightness of his coming." See 2 Thess. ii: 8. This 
shows that the Lord has not yet come, for he " will destroy by 
the spirit of his mouth, and utterly overthrow by the bright- 
ness of his coming " this great " apostasy," or " man of sin." 
So long, then, as Popery is not utterly overthrown, destroyed, 
the Lord has not come. 

3. In Luke xxi : 24 is found one of the most remarkable 
predictions in the whole Bible. It reads as follows: "And 
they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away 
captives among all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden 
down by the Gentiles, till the times of the Gentiles be ful- 
filled." Who were to fall by the edge of the sword? The 
Jews. This is the destruction of Jerusalem. " They, the 
Jews, shall be led away captive among all nations." This 
captivity of the Jews, beyond all doubt, extends till the 
present time. "And Jerusalem shall be trodden down by 
the Gentiles, till the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." 
This unquestionably extends down to the present time. 
Jerusalem is still trodden down by the Gentiles, and the 
times of the Gentiles are not yet fulfilled. What, then, 



AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD. 439 

shall occur after this captivity of the Jews, this treading 
down of Jerusalem and the fulfillment of the times of the 
Gentiles? After all this, the Lord says, "And then shall 
they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, with power 
and great glory." This puts the coming of Christ after the 
captivity of the Jewish nation among all nations, after the 
treading of Jerusalem by the Gentiles, and after the fulfill- 
ment of the times of the Gentiles, and puts it in the future 
to us, beyond all doubt. 

4. 1 Cor. xv : 22, Paul says : "As by Adam all die, so also 
by Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order : 
Christ the first-fruits; afterward those who are Christ's at 
his coming." This " making alive " will be in the resurrec- 
tion from the dead. The language is very elliptical. Filling 
the ellipsis, it will read as follows : "As by Adam all die, so 
also by Christ shall all be made alive. But each shall be 
made alive in his own order : Christ the first-fruits shall be 
made alive; afterward those who are Christ's shall be made 
alive at his coming." When are those who are Christ's to 
be made alive? In the resurrection from the dead, at his 
coming. This settles the question of his coming, showing 
that it is yet future, and will be at the resurrection of the 
dead. 

In eighteen hundred and forty-three, many had set the 
time for the coming of Christ to the very day, if not the 
very hour. On the set day they were sitting about, gazing 
up into heaven. Some poor deluded creatures had pre- 
pared themselves ascension robes — white robes, in which to 
ascend and meet the Lord in the air, so carnal and material- 
istic were their views. Many good and true men, however, 
maintained that the time could be determined when the 
Lord would come, and were so confident about it that they 
used to say, " If the Bible is true the Lord will come " on 
the set day. Some went so far, that they declared that they 



440 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 

would not believe the Bible if the Lord did not come at the 
set time. Others, with much pertinancy, would reply : " If 
the Lord does not come on your set day, I shall not con- 
clude that the Bible is not true, but that your interpreta- 
tion of the Bible is not true." While there was no doubt 
about the Bible being true, there was much doubt about 
their understanding the Bible. Men of intelligence had 
so much confidence in the truth of the Bible, and so little 
confidence in their interpretation of it concerning the time 
of the coming of the Lord, that their failure by no means 
shook their faith. It was nothing but a mistake in men; 
a failure in understanding the Bible, and no failure in the 
Bible itself. 

One grand plea, made by the Adventists then, and also 
made by the much less conscientious Adventists now, for 
determining the precise time of the coming of the Lord, 
was, and now is, that men will repent if convinced that the 
Lord w r ill come at a certain set time. But there are several 
things to be considered about this matter : 

1. If you prove to be mistaken about the time, and the 
Lord should not come at your appointed time after you have 
declared so confidently that he will come at that time, if the 
Bible is true, w r ho will then be led to repentance by your 
plea? Will you not rather lead men to disbelieve the Bible? 
The process of reasoning will then be short and easy. The 
preacher said, " If the Bible is true, the Lord will come at 
the set time." The Lord did not come at the set time, 
therefore the Bible is not true. If you fail, so far as the 
people had confidence in you their faith will be shaken. 

2. But you miss the Lord's argument. His argument is 
that we must be always ready, because we know not the time 
when the Lord will come. Your argument is, that we 
should know the time, and make known the time, that we 
and the people may repent and prepare for his coming, be- 



AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD. 441 

cause we and they know the time. You remind one of chil- 
dren, who want to know the precise time when their parents 
will return home, that they may straighten, up and set them- 
selves in order against the time when the parents will get 
home. It is evident that the children would conduct them- 
selves better if they knew that the parents would return, but 
knew not when. In that case they must be ready all the 
time, because they know not when their parents will return. 
So the Lord intends us to be always ready, because we know 
not the time. 

3. It was certainly no part of the Lord's teaching, nor 
that of his apostles, to set the time, or show the time the 
Lord had set, and it is equally certain that the Lord de- 
clared that no man knows the time. The man of faith 
believes him who has assured us that no man knows the 
time, and not those who claim to know the time. The true 
exhortation of the Lord is, to be always ready, because you 
know not when your Lord shall appear. 

4. It has been right to look for the coming of the Lord, 
and stand in readiness for it, from the apostolic day to the 
present time, because the time is not revealed — no man 
knows when he will appear. It would not have been right 
to have looked for the coming of the Lord in the apostles' 
day, if they had known that he would not come till some 
time now future. It is unequivocally certain that they 
looked for the coming of the Lord, not because they knew 
when he would come, but because they did not know when 
he would come. 

It is right to look for the coming of the Lord now, as 
it has been right all the time since he ascended to heaven, 
simply because he has not revealed the time, but exhorted us 
to be always ready. It was right to look for and hasten to 
the coming of the day of the Lord in the time of the apos- 
tles; but it was not right then, and is not right now, to say 



442 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 

"the Lord delays his coming," and makes the delay an ex- 
cuse to do evil. The Lord will certainly come, and will 
not disappoint his true followers, not because they know 
when he will come, but because they arc always ready and 
looking for him. If he should come immediately, they will . 
not be disappointed, for they are always looking for him ; 
if he should not come immediately, they will not be disap- 
pointed, for they know not when he will appear. They are 
prepared for his coming, or not coming, at any time. If he 
should defer his coming till the fortunes of the future of the 
Church would be vastly greater than all the fortunes of the 
past of the Church ; or if he should defer his coming till 
the number of all who have been redeemed by his blood, 
in the whole history of the past, would not be as a drop to 
the bucket compared with the innumerable company which 
shall yet be redeemed and brought to- God through our Lord 
Jesus Christ, they will not be disappointed. They will still 
look for him, and continue to look for him till he comes. 
Their faith and hope are not in the certain knowledge they 
have of the precise time when he will come, but the cer- 
tainty that he will come and take his ransomed people home. 
This faith is in the certainty that he loill come, and not in 
their certain knowledge when he will come. Their hope is in 
the full assurance that he will come, and the grand events 
that shall occur at his coming, and not in any certain knowl- 
edge about the precise time when he will come. Let his 
saints constantly live in the blessed hope that he will come ; 
that they shall see him, and be like him, for they shall see 
him as he is, and live in the Spirit that John was in when 
he wrote the words " Come, Lord Jesus." 

But more special attention must now be given to the 
destiny of this world. It has undergone innumerable 
changes during the six thousand years since the Mosaic crea- 
tion. Among these changes there is the one grand change 






AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD. 443 



produced by the flood, the most wonderful connected with 
the entire history of the human race. Concerning this event, 
blind unbelief has blundered and stumbled. Some of the 
things that infidels have said about the flood would be as 
miraculous as the Mosaic account of the flood. A few in- 
fidel speculations must receive a brief notice here. 

1. One infidel theory, advocated about one hundred years 
ago, was to the effect that, by accurate scientific experiment, 
it had been determined how much water was in the air, the 
earth, lakes, seas, and oceans, and that there was not enough 
belonging to the globe, all combined, to make such a flood 
as that of which Moses gives us an account. Hence the 
account given by Moses must be discarded. Many infidels 
laughed over this, and maintained that the light of science 
would soon sweep away the traditions and superstitions of 
the Bible. To this, however, reply was made by men of 
science, sweeping away the infidel theory by the develop- 
ments of true science. But that you may see how much 
confidence may be reposed in the infidel theories arrayed 
against the Bible, turn to a modern theory, advocated and 
received by infidels of the present time. They, as geolo- 
gists and philosophers, undertake to solve the following 
difficulty: In Western Pennsylvania, across Central Ohio, 
Indiana, Illinois, Southern Missouri, and, perhaps, as far 
west as Kansas, round, hard, flinty rocks are found, vary- 
ing in size from a pebble to many tons' weight. They 
commence theorizing about these rocks. As geologists and 
philosophers, it would not do to admit that they do not 
know all about them. They, therefore, decide, in the first 
place, that these rocks are not natives of the countries re- 
ferred to where they are found. The next thing is to de- 
termine where they are from. They decide that they are 
natives of the Arctic region. Then the tough que>ti<>n 
comes up, how they were transferred to this country. Rec- 



444 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 

ollect, these are men who have no credulity; who can not 
believe the Mosaic account of a flood, nor the Bible in gen- 
eral! They tell us that in the Arctic regions there are 
immense ranges of mountains, extending many thousands 
of miles east and west, of enormous height, almost perpen- 
dicular on the side facing the south; that during their six 
months' night the freezing is immense on these mountain 
sides, and during their six months' day it thaws, and thus, 
thawing and freezing for ages, these rocks are thrown out 
and roll down the mountain sides and into the immense 
ocean of ice below. Thus, they argue, they had been load- 
ing into this ocean of ice for ages, and that there was then 
a vast inuudation of water that hove up this vast ocean of 
ice, with all those rocks on it, and that the shape of the 
glacier is such that it floated across this valley, and, as the 
ice melted away, deposited these rocks where they are found 
in this great valley. 

Thus it is seen that the infidels, one hundred years ago, 
determined that there was not water enough belonging to 
the globe to make a flood. Now they find water enough to 
float an ocean of ice across a continent, freighted with rocks, 
depositing them over an expanse of country extending a 
thousand miles in length! Which infidel Bible shall we 
believe — the one a hundred years ago, that found no water 
sufficient for a flood, or the one now finding water enough 
to float an ocean of ice across a continent, freighted with 
rock? 

Some one is ready to say that the land has been raised 
in the country where these rocks are deposited, and that it 
did not take the same amount of water before it was raised 
to float an ocean of ice over it that it would now since it 
has been raised. Then may it not be that other parts of 
the earth have also been raised since the flood, and that it 
did not require the same amount of water to extend over 



AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD. 445 

the earth before it was raised than it would now? One 
[j thing is certain, and that is, that whether the greatest ele- 
Ivations of the earth have been raised or not, the waters of 
[the ocean have, at some period, been over them. As Hugh 
Miller would say, "The testimony is in the rocks." The 
inhabitants of the ocean are found petrified in the rocks, 
bearing testimony, to be read and known of all men, corrob- 
orating the Mosaic history of the flood. 

The same men who could not believe the history of the 
flood one hundred years ago, maintained, also, that the 
prophetic Scriptures, that speak of the world being destroyed 
by fire, could not be fulfilled. They argued that the world 
could not be " burned up," as Peter says, for three-fourths 
of its surface are covered with water, and the earth itself 
is not inflammable or combustible matter, and could not 
burn — that such a thing is impossible. This is the way 
their Bible — the book of nature — read to them a hundred 
years ago. How does it read to them now ? They are now 
telling us that, after passing a comparatively thin crust over 
the surface of the earth, of some sixty miles in thickness, 
there is nothing but one vast lake of fire in the interior of 
the earth, equal, in the intensity of its heat, to the hottest 
metal that ever flowed from a smelter's furnace! The tes- 
timony they give of this is chiefly in the fearful material 
that issues from volcanoes, the earthquakes, and the diam- 
eter of the earth being greater at the equator than at the 
poles, which they suppose to be occasioned by its centrifugal 
force. It is not necessary now to stop to inquire whether 
this is all so. It is enough to know that this is the way 
they are now reading the book of nature, or, at least, a large 
class of the men who say they can not believe the Bible. 
Taking it, then, that they are correct, what shall be said of 
their brethren who lived one hundred years ago? With 
their view of it, the wonder was how the world could be 



446 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 

burned up ; but, with the view of the modern men to whom 
reference has been here made, the wonder is how it is pre- 
served and kept from burning up ! If the entire mass of I 
the globe, saving what geologists call " the crust," is noth- 
ing but a vast ocean of melted lava — a "lake of fire"-* 
whirling over once in twenty-four hours, or carrying us one 
thousand miles an hour on its surface as it revolves on its , 
axis, traveling at the same time with inconceivable velocity! 
as it courses its vast circuit of near six hundred millions'; 
of miles in its annual journey around the sun, is not the : 
wonder how the Almighty can preserve it and keep it fromii 
destruction? The wonder with men of intelligence is, howli 
it has been preserved, in its mighty movements among the.j 
innumerable bodies, in vast, incomprehensible, and illimitrh 
able space, for six thousand years. Yet it has been thusjj 
preserved, managed, and kept in its regular motions for six j j 
thousand years without a single collision or accident ! Is | 
this all chance? ( 

But the matter in hand is to look at the possibility and j 
probability of the world being burned up. 

Scientific men have long since demonstrated that evei j 
water, which we use to extinguish fire, may be placed under \ 
such conditions as to cause it to burn with a fury and in- $ 
tensity surpassing all human imagination. The same is j 
true, also, of the atmosphere itself. As easy, then, as yol j 
move the regulator of your watch, he who created the r 
heavens and the earth, the sea and land, and all things I [ 
and upholds them by the word of his power, can place the „ 
water under such conditions, as well as the air, as would \ 
convert it into the most inflammable material, and thus wrap \ 
this globe in flame — immerse it in fire. It is not argued ] 
here that the world will certain/)/ be destroyed in this way, • ( 
but surely this is a very possible way. i 

But stop and look from another angle. See the smith a 



AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD. 447 

> bring a heated iron in contact with one drop of water, suf- 
ficient to evaporate it instantly, and the result is equal to 
the firing of a pistol. Suppose you could bring a heated 
mass of any sort in contact with one pint of water, suffi- 
cient to evaporate it instantly, what w r ould be the result? 
A concussion more terrible than the explosion of the great- 
est shell ever fired from a mortar ! Suppose, then, that 
power, such as lifts continents from the bed of the ocean, 
and rears mountains five miles above the level of the ocean, 
should instantly make an opening some three or four thou- 
sand miles in length under the depths of the ocean, through 
the crust of the earth, thus instantly letting the great waters 
into the boiling lava, what kind of a result might be ex- 

'< peered ? Certainly not a mere earthquake, jarring the earth 
for thousands of miles, as is occasioned by volcanic erup- 

• tions, but an explosion that would hurl atoms of the earth 
thousands of miles out from the globe, when, by attraction 
or gravitation, they would be drawn back to the center, 
forming a universal chaos. 

Please take one more look. Man has not been able to 
penetrate but a short distance into the earth, probably not 
three thousand feet. What has been found in the little 
space so far penetrated? Most fearful material. Gas has 
been found, which has rushed out of the small hole made 
in boring sufficient to charge the air for hundreds of yards 
round, which has caught on fire, and, in a few instances, 
burned men to death before they could escape. This is a 
mere index to what may be treasured up deeper down. 
Who knows what engines of destruction the Lord may 
have still below the limited space penetrated by man ? 
There may be vast reservoirs of this wonderful gas, suffi- 
cient to charge the entire atmosphere belonging to the globe 
and supply the fuel, after one universal flame shall spread 
and extend as far as the atmosphere itself, as long as the 



448 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 

flood prevailed on the earth, thus devouring every living 
creature on the face of the earth. Who knows what the 
Almighty has locked up deep down, far below where man 
has never penetrated? There may be vast oceans of this 
fearful gas lying far below even the bed of the sea, and 
nothing but the fiat of the Infinite One is required to bring 
it to the surface and spread universal flame all over the 
great waters and the dry lands. 

Shall ignorant men, then, in the hardness of their hearts 
and their determined perversity, dare to question the pos- 
sibility of the destruction of the world by fire ? Even look- i 
ing at it in view of what little man knows of its structure, 
and the wonderful resources and engines the Lord has in it j 
and on it, and contemplating the natural causes and effects, I 
the wonder, as has been before stated, is not how it can be. 
destroyed by fire, but how the Lord has kept it from destruc- 
tion and made it a safe habitation for man for six thousand ' 
years ! 

It is not maintained here that the Lord will destroy the 
world by means of this gas, or by means of the vast lake of 
fire supposed to be within the bowels of the earth ; nor is it 
claimed that any man can tell, or even knows, what means 
the Lord will employ, what engines or resources he will use 
in fulfilling the word of prophecy; nor is such a reference, 
as has been here made, necessary for any man that believes 
his Bible. It is only made for the sake of men who do not 
believe the Bible, to show them that, aside from all revela- 
tion on the subject, such an event as the Bible predicts is as 
probable as any thing. Instead of its being unreasonable or 
impossible for the world to be destroyed by fire, it is as prob- 
able and reasonable as any thing. But for the man who 
believes the Bible, or that believes that God is the self- 
existent and unoriginated cause of all things, or that he 
created all things, no such reasoning is necessary, for cer- , 



AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD. 449 

tainly he who created all things, actually brought them into 
existence, can immerse the world in water or flame at his 
pleasure. It will require a miracle, and no man need in- 
quire how a miracle is done, or can be done. How the Al- 
mighty created man — brought into existence the human 
race — how he created heaven, and earth, and all things — how 
he put in motion the immense bodies in the heavens and 
governs them in their vast orbits, no man of intelligence 
will attempt to explain. So no man of intelligence ought 
to think of explaining how the Almighty produced the 
flood, or how he will produce the fire that shall destroy 
the world. The man of faith doubts not because he sees 
not how it will be performed. He has no doubt that God 
will raise the dead, though he sees not how it will be done. 
If a man can be born, grow up, and become a full-grown 
man in twenty-one years, under the power of God vested 
in the laws of nature, it will be no more wonderful for the 
same power of God, put forth in another way, to instantly 
raise a man from the dead. 

It is, then, good for us occasionally to think of the vast 
resources in the hands of the Almighty Father of heaven 
and earth for overflowing the world with water, immersing 
it in fire, or doing whatever he may please to do with the 
world or man, to bring us to a realization of our nothing- 
ness, our insignificance, and the feebleness of our reasonings, 
that we may stand off and admire the stupendous proportions 
and immeasurable dimensions of the "wonderful works of 
God." In view of all this, how men should sink in the 
depths of humility before God and exclaim, with David, 
" Lord, what then is man, that thou art mindful of him, or 
the son of man, that thou visitest him?" Come, then, 
you men of faith, men of the Bible, men of God, and hear 
the destiny of the world. What does the Bible say? Hear 
a few words from the Old Testament: "Behold the day 
38 



450 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 

comes, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, 
and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that 
comes shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it 
shall leave them neither root nor branch." Mai. iv: 1. 
"To you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord 
Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 
in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not 
God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; 
who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from 
presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power, when he 
shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired 
by all them that believe." 2 Thess. i: 7-10. "The day 
of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which 
the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the 
elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and 
the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing, 
then, that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner 
of persons you ought to be in all holy behavior and god- 
liness; looking for and hasting to the day of God, wherein 
the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the ele- 
ments shall melt with fervent heat?" 2 Pet. iii: 10-12. 
Let no unbelief come nigh thy dwelling, nor stagger at the 
wonderful prophetic statements of these Scriptures, but 
tremble before the Majesty of heaven and earth. 

Do you inquire for the power to accomplish all this? 
Peter says, of our Lord Jesus the Christ, that he " has 
gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels, 
authorities, and powers being made subject to him." See 1 
Pet. iii: 22. The angels, authorities, and powers are sub- 
ject to our Lord. Paul says, 2 Thess. i: 7, that "he shall 
be revealed with his mighty angels." We read, Matt, xxv: 
31, that "the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all 
the holy angels with him." He will literally have at his 
command the " armies in heaven." Look, then, for one 



AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD. 451 

moment, at the august messages executed by these wonderful 
beings, " greater in power and might " than man. One of 
them in a single hour — the hour of midnight — struck down 
in death the first-born in every house in all Egypt where 
the blood was not sprinkled on the door-posts. An angel 
descended on the morning of the resurrection of Jesus, rolled 
back the stone from the door of the sepulcher, and sat on it, 
while the Roman guard "fell on the ground as dead men." 
Two angels visited Sodom, warned Lot to leave the place, 
and spread down one vast sheet of fire, and swept away the 
cities of the plains to rise no more forever. These samples 
are sufficient to indicate the wonderful power of these swift 
messengers of Jehovah, when dispatched to execute the ter- 
rible judgments of God. What, then, may we expect when 
the Lord shall " come, with all the holy angels," to execute 
judgment on all them who obey not the Gospel of our Lord 
Jesus Christ? 

But if this world is to be immersed in fire — to " be burned 
up," where will the saints be during the general conflagra- 
tion? The Lord has not left them in the dark on this 
subject, but has revealed a way of escape. " The Lord 
himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the 
voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God : and 
the dead in Christ shall rise first : then we, who are alive 
and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the 
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever 
be with the Lord." 1 Thess. iv : 14-16. The expression 
" the dead in Christ shall rise first " has, doubtless, in many 
instances, been taken wrong. It has generally been taken 
to mean that " the dead in Christ shall rise first," or before 
the wicked. But this is not the meaning of it. The two 
classes of which he is speaking are not the righteous and 
wicked, but "the dead in Christ," or, figuratively, "those 
who sleep in Jesus," and those who " are alive and remain 



452 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 

at the coming of the Lord." This latter class shall not 
anticipate or go before those who have died in Christ, but 
those who sleep in Jesns shall rise first, before the living 
saints shall be changed, and ascend to meet him in the air; 
and, together, the two classes shall go up to meet the Lord, 
and forever be with him. This, then, obviates all difficulty 
as to the safety of the saints when the general destruction 
shall come. The Lord will take care of them — take them 
up to be forever with him. 

AVhat a scene must have been witnessed when the flood 
came, and " the world that then was, being overflowed with 
water, perished ; " when " the waters prevailed exceedingly 
upon the earth, and all the high hills that were under the 
whole heaven were covered/' " and the mountains were cov- 
ered,""" and all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both 
of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping 
thing that creepeth upon the earth, and even- man : all in 
whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was on the 
dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed 
which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and the 
cattle, and the creeping tilings, and the fowl of the heaven; 
and they were destroyed from the earth; and Xoah only 
remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark ! " 
The Lord — Matt, xxiv: 37-39 — describes them as follows: 
" But as the days of Xoah were, shall also the coming of 
the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the 
flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving 
in marriage, till the day that Xoah entered into the ark, 
and knew not till the flood came and took them all away: 
so shall also the coining of the Son of Man be." When 
"all the fountains of the great deep were broken up" and 
"the windows of heaven were opened," and the waters pre- 
vailed and commenced overspreading the dry land ; when 
dwellings and a.11 kinds of property, with man and beast, 



AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD. 453 

were being swept away, what awful terror was sent forth 
into the hearts of wicked and rebellious men! The long- 
suffering of God had been waiting. For one hundred and 
twenty years the solemn warnings of the preacher of right- 
eousness had been despised, his honest pleadings and 
exhortations contemned, and he had been rejected. The 
wickedness of man was very great on the earth. Unbelief, 
blindness, and hardness of heart prevailed to such an extent 
that reformation was impossible. The goodness of God was 
despised, his forbearance and long-suffering had been con- 
strued into evidence that his judgments lingered. Some 
were seeking fame and renown; others were in the general 
scramble for riches; some seeking revenge, and gratifying 
their hate on their enemies; others in general debauchery 
and the depths of corruption. They had long been filling 
up the cup of iniquity. It was now full. They had been 
treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath. The day of 
vengeance had been long coming, but no less sure. It had 
now come, and the threatened destruction came. A race that 
had been multiplying for sixteen long centuries was swept 
away in fury and wrath, excepting eight souls, on account 
of their rebellion against God, and the account of it is en- 
tered on the sacred records as a warning to the generations 
to come. 

The apostle says: "By the same word, the heavens and 
the earth which are now kept in store, reserved to fire 
against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." 
For eighteen long centuries has the wrath of God been kind- 
ling and treasuring up against the day of wrath, and the 
righteous judgment of God against them who know not 
God and obey not the Gospel. His transcendent forbear- 
ance, compassion, and mercy are now, by hardened men, 
being construed to mean that he will never come; that judg- 
ment will never overtake the disobedient, and the world 



454 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 

will never be destroyed. Be not deceived, blinded, nor 
deluded. The Lord is not slack concerning his promises 
or threatenings. The day of the Lord will come as a thief 
in the night, and retribution will be awarded. 

How utterly wonderful, when the waywardness of the 
human race in all the past generations is considered, that 
the forbearance and long-suffering of God should have ex- 
tended six thousand years; that the love of God to man, 
as displayed through our Lord Jesus the Christ, should have 
been extended for eighteen long centuries, while our God 
has been all the time extending his hands in mercy and in 
infinite compassion, in gracious invitations to return and 
live. Though the love of God has been despised, the ago- 
nies of the Savior in the garden of Gethsemane have been 
contemned, the sufferings of Jesus on the cross have been 
unheeded by millions on millions of our ungrateful and 
wayward race, his streaming blood to cleanse us from sin 
has been set at naught for many long centuries, the won- 
derful forbearance of God is still extended, and the nations 
are still invited to the Lamb of God who takes away the 
sin of the world ! In infinite compassion, he still stands all 
the day long, in most lovely strains, inviting the children of 
men to return. "Who can appreciate, much le« express Ma 
appreciation of the mercy, the grace, and compassion of the 
Almighty Father, in bearing with the waywardness, the 
transgressions, and the corruptions of the children of men 
down through all the generations of the past, or the ever- 
lasting debt of gratitude that we owe? But we are not to 
infer, from the long forbearance of God, that the day of 
wrath will never come, or that the judgment of God will 
never overtake the ungodly. The day of wratli overtook 
the ungodly in the time of Noah. The flood came and 
swept them all away. The Egyptians, with their hardened 
and blinded monarch, were hurled down, in terrible wrath 



AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD. 455 

and fury, in the Red Sea. The Sodomites were destroyed 
from the face of the earth by the devouring flames. One 
million and a half of Jews fell in the siege in Jerusalem, 
and their blood ran ankle-deep in the streets of the devoted 
city. Shall all these displays in the judgments of God go 
unheeded by the people of our time, and shall they join in the 
stupid delusion that " all things continue as they were from 
the beginning of the creation?" Shall their eyes be closed 
against the calamities that have been brought on the un- 
godly in past ages, not knowing that the most terrible judg- 
ment of all is approaching? Be warned and entreated, then, 
to turn to the Lord before the day of vengeance shall come — 
before the terrible announcement shall be made that a time 
shall be no longer," but eternity, with all its solemnities 
and realities, shall be ushered in. May we find mercy of 
the Lord in that day ! 

" To Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in 
His own blood," be honor and power everlasting! 



SERMON, No. XIX. 

THEUE.-THE THREE STATES OF if AN-THE FLESHLY, THE INTERMEDIATE, 
AND THE ETERNAL. 

Text— "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, 
that thou visitest him?"— Heb, ii: 6. 

This language is quoted by Paul from David, Ps. viii: 
4. We have our grand questions in agriculture, commerce, 
and politics; in arts, sciences, and improvements, all having 
their comparative importance, interest, and consequences; 
but all these questions sink into insignificance, emptiness, 
and nothingness in view of the momentous question, "What 
is man?" David says: " When I consider thy heavens, the 
work of thy fingers; the moon and the stars, which thou 
hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? 
or the son of man, that thou visitest him?" This shows 
that he had just been viewing the heavens, considering the 
vastness, stupendous proportions, and magnitude of the won- 
derful works of God that appear in the heavens above us ; 
and, in contrast with all that appeared to him, his mind 
reverts to man, and he bursts forth in the inquiry, "What 
is man?" In view, too, of all these wonderful works that 
he considered in the heavens, from the hand of God, he is 
overwhelmed that God should stoop to be mindful of man, 
or the son of man, to visit him ! This is wonderful, beyond 
all human comprehension; but that our heavenly Father 
39 (457) 



458 THE THREE STATES OF MAN— 

should number even the hairs of the heads of his saints, as 
the Lord assures us he does, is superlatively encouraging, con- 
soling, and comforting, and is sufficient to call out everlast- 
ing gratitude and thanksgiving from the children of men. 
Is it so, that he who made all things — who made and up- 
holds the worlds by the word of his mighty power, conde- 
scends to number even the hairs on the heads of his saints, 
and that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without 
his notice? This is all true. Our heavenly Father is, then, 
infinitely good, and man is of much more value than many 
sparrows. This, then, opens the way to inquire into the 
question, "What is man?" in three states: 

1. What is man in the present or fleshly state? 

2.. What is man in the intermediate state, or between 
death and the resurrection? 

3. What is man in the eternal or resurrection state? 

These are questions to be settled by revelation. All science, 
philosophy, and reasoning, aside from revelation, must for- 
ever fail to answer these great questions concerning man. 
Men of the world — some of them scientific men — have talked 
much of the "light of nature" and "the book of nature," 
but no "light of nature" nor "book of nature" can answer 
any one of these questions. There is no light in nature even 
to reveal God to man, or man to himself, much less to tell what 
man is in any one of the three states in question. To pro- 
ceed, then, at once to the matter in hand, let it be distinctly 
understood what is in view, and what is to be accomplished 
in the examination of the subject in hand. 

The system, plan, or scheme of redemption is unique, 
there being a complete and perfect symmetry in all its parts. 
The man who humanizes the Savior of the world, as some 
Unitarians and Humanitarians do, lets down the whole sys- 
tem, in all its parts, to the same level. In precisely the 
same way, the man who lowers down man to a mere animal, 



FLESHLY, INTERMEDIATE, AND ETERNAL STATE. 459 

a material being, a thinking lump of matter, lowers down 
the whole system in the same proportion all round. It is a 
matter to be deeply regretted, that any human being of or- 
dinary intelligence should degrade himself, and try to degrade 
his race so far as to maintain that man is composed wholly 
of matter; that when a man dies, as one expresses it, "he 
dies all over;" or, as another expresses it, "he is unmade;" 
or, as another has it, " he is decomposed," and no more ex- 
ists as a man than he did a thousand years before he was 
created. Still, we have the men in our day who have thus 
degraded themselves, and are thus carnalizing the gracious 
system which God has ordained for our salvation. These 
maintain that man has no conscious existence between death 
and the resurrection; that after the resurrection all, both 
good and bad, will appear in the final judgment, when the 
wicked will be killed again, or decomposed, and have no 
conscious existence forever. In other words, they maintain 
that the entire man is mortal, and assume that, at death, his 
conscious existence terminates till raised from the dead; and 
after the last judgment, the conscious existence of the wicked 
will be terminated forever, and the righteous will be im- 
mortalized. Reference is here made to this theory that all 
may see what becomes of it, when the light of revelation is 
opened out on it. Without further preliminary, turn your 
attention to the matters in hand. 

What is man in the present or fleshly state? Paul says, 
"And may your spirit, and soul, and body be preserved 
whole without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ." 1 Thess. v : 23. This is the Bible Union reading. 
To get the passage fully into view, read the verse from the 
beginning from the common version: "And the very God 
of peace sanctify you fully; and I pray God your whole 
spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blameless to the 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." From this passage it 



460 THE THREE STATES OF MAN— 

is clear that the man wholly consists of a "whole spirit, 
and soul, and body." It matters not whether we can clearly 
and perfectly distinguish between the " whole spirit, and 
soul, and body" or not, nor whether we can fully under- 
stand the union of a "whole spirit, and soul, and body" in 
one person ; nor whether we can understand all about what 
pertains to the whole spirit, the whole soul, or the whole 
body, still there is the fact that the Divine Spirit of all 
wisdom and all revelation recognized in man a " whole 
spirit, and soul, and body," or recognized in man a triune 
being, a trinity, a being consisting of a " whole spirit, and 
soul, and body." This threefold or triune nature of man 
is never lost sight of in the entire revelation from God to 
man. 

It is useless to stop and stumble ourselves because we 
can not understand all about this triune nature. We can 
not understand all about any thing. We only understand in 
part ; but the Lord understands, and when he speaks of a 
" whole spirit, and soul, and body," he means something. 
There is a clear intimation of the same kind in the Mosaic 
account of the creation : "And the Lord God formed man 
of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils 
the breath of life ; and man became a living soul." Gen. 
ii : 7. The word " man " here is used metonymically ; the 
whole is evidently used for a part. It was only the body 
that was " formed of the dust," a perfect corporeal human 
structure, or a perfect human body ; but it was lifeless, mo- 
tionless, and powerless. This is clear from what follows ! 
"And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." The 
body was formed, but before the Lord breathed into it the 
breath of life it did not breathe nor live. But after he 
breathed into it the breath of life, it lived and breathed. 
He became, what he was not before, a living soul, or a liv- 
ing being or person. 



FLESHLY, INTERMEDIATE, AND ETERNAL STATE. 461 

But that we may see more fully what man is, hear the 
Lord : " Be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are 
not able to kill the soul ; but rather fear him who is able 
to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matt, x : 28. Here 
the Lord, alluding to the persecutors, says they "kill the 
body, but are not able to kill the soul." Here is not only 
a distinction made between the soul and body, but two differ- 
ent things are stated — one of the soul and the other of the 
body. 1. Man can kill the body. 2. Man can not kill the 
soul. The following is clear from this : 

1. There is a clear distinction between the soul and the 
body. 

2. That the death of the body is not the death of the 
whole man — is not the death of the soul. 

3. That the soul does not die when the body dies. 

4. That man can kill the body. 

5. That man can not kill the soul. 

There is no far-fetched reasoning here. As certainly as the 
Lord spoke truth, man is " not able to kill the soul." Man 
is able to kill the body. The body, then, dies, while the 
soul does not. The material man can be killed by man, but 
the soul, or " inner man " — the immaterial man — can not be 
killed by man. 

The Sadducees did not believe in the existence of angels 
or spirits, and, to be consistent, denied the resurrection of the 
dead. They believed they were invincible in argument. 
They were ever ready for debate with their opposers, the 
Pharisees. They learned that the Lord had indorsed the 
Pharisees, so far as the question of the resurrection was con- 
cerned. The Sadducees regarded this as a fine opening for 
them. , They considered themselves invulnerable on this 
question. Accordingly, they prepared to meet Jesus on their 
favorite point of discussion. They studied out one of their 
greatest difficulties, and presented it to him. Probably they 



462 THE THREE STATES OF MAN— 

had puzzled their former antagonists with it many times. 
They selected the puzzling case of the woman who had mar- 
ried seven men in succession, who had all died, and the 
woman also had died, and inquired which one of the seven 
should have her in the resurrection. This was as difficult as 
any of the subtleties produced by the caviling and captious 
from that time to the present. But the Lord solved their 
difficult problem in a single sentence, as follows: "In that 
world they neither marry nor are given in marriage." In 
that respect " they are as the angels of God." So much for 
their puzzling question ; but now he proceeds to give them 
a further lesson : " Now that the dead are raised, even Moses 
showed at the bush, when he calls the Lord the God of Abra- 
ham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he 
is not a Go# of the dead, but of the living : for all live to 
him." Luke xx: 37, 38. Here we have an argument from 
our Lord, showing that the dead shall be raised. What is 
the argument ? It is as follows : God is the God of Abra- 
ham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but 
of the living. How is he, then, the God of Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob, seeing that they are dead ? They are dead to us, 
but alive to him: for all live to him. Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, though dead to us, live to God. This proves the ex- 
istence of human spirits, and that they live to God after 
death, which was denied by the Sadducees; and which, if 
proved to him, settled the question of the resurrection of the 
dead. The Lord affirms that the dead shall rise, and main- 
tains that Moses showed this in declaring that God is the 
God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of 
Jacob; which, as he is not the God of the dead, proves that 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob live to him, for, says Jesus, "all 
live to him;" and thus settles the question of human exist- 
ence after death, or spiritual existence after death, which 
proved the resurrection to the Sadducce. This settles the 



FLESHLY, INTERMEDIATE, AND ETERNAL STATE. 463 

main question in this discourse, as it shows that Abraham, 
and Isaac, and Jacob, who had died to this world and all 
that is in it many ages before, still lived to God — were still 
in conscious existence; thus showing that there is a con- 
scious existence between death and the resurrection — that 
during this period persons live to God. 

Please turn to that grand and sublime event called " the 
transfiguration." What did the transfiguration consist of? 
The Lord appeared in divine majesty, as he would if we 
could see him now, glorified, highly exalted, and crowned 
Lord of all, as he sits on the throne in heaven. There w r ere 
three representatives there, or eye-w T itnesses in the flesh or 
from the fleshly state, viz., Peter, James, and John. There 
was one representative there from the intermediate state, or 
the state between death and the resurrection, viz., Moses. 
There was also one representative there from the eternal 
state, or from the resurrection state, viz., Elijah. This was 
the most august and sublime scene that ever appeared to 
mortal eyes. Peter, James, and John were there as wit- 
nesses. The Almighty Father there showed their Lord and 
King as he would appear to us if we could see him as he is 
now in heaven, thus enabling them to say, "We were eye- 
witnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the 
Father honor and glory, when such a voice came to him 
from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom 
I am well pleased. And this voice we heard from heaven, 
being with him in the holy ruount." 2 Pet. i: 17. They 
saw the glorified and highly exalted Lord, and heard the 
wonderful voice from the excellent glory. 

But they saw another distinguished personage there. 
Moses w r as there. Yes, Moses, the mediator of the First 
Testament was there; the man Moses, after he had died, 
been absent from this world fifteen hundred years, and his 
body had been mingled with the dust. Moses appears, is 



464 THE THREE STATES OF MAN— 

identified, and spoken of by name. He is there, separate 
from the body, for Christ was the first-born from the dead, 
of every creature, and he was not born from the dead then. 
What a grand matter! A man who had disappeared from 
this world for fifteen centuries, re-appears, is identified, his 
former life and character identified with him ; separate from 
the body, but in a conscious state, and holds a conversation 
with our Lord in regard to his sufferings to be accomplished 
at Jerusalem! The mediator of the Old Testament in a 
conversation with the Mediator of the New Testament, as 
if coming to him to resign his authority as lawgiver, and 
hand all over into the hands of the new Lawgiver. What 
a grand occasion ! He represented the intermediate state. 

But there was yet another distinguished personage there. 
The ancient prophet Elijah was there, a representative of 
the eternal or resurrection state. He did not suffer death. 
Many long centuries before, standing on the east side of the 
Jordan, surrounded by the multitude, he entered the chariot 
of God, and, as the hosts of Israel stood gazing after him, 
he ascended to God. As he was wafted triumphantly toward 
heaven, he threw off his mantle, and it fell on Elisha. He 
was changed, glorified, immortalized, and happified, and 
thus shown to Peter, James, and John, a specimen of re- 
deemed, immortalized, and happified humanity. They saw 
him, too, participating in the conversation touching the 
Lord's sufferings to be accomplished in Jerusalem. We 
have, then, the testimony of these witnesses of Jesus, who 
saw his Divine Majesty, to the conscious existence of Moses, 
between death and the resurrection, and to the conscious 
existence of Elijah, in the eternal state. They were both 
present and participated in the conversation with our Lord. 

The next scripture to which your attention is directed, is 
the case of the rich man and Lazarus, Luke xvi : 19-31. 
It may be said, "That is only a parable." How do you 



FLESHLY, INTERMEDIATE, AND ETERNAL STATE. 465 

know that it is a parable? " It says/' exclaims a man, "in 
my Bible, at the head of the chapter, 'The Parable of the 
rich man and Lazarus.'" That is the case with many 
Bibles; but how came that heading there? All know, or 
ought to know, that that heading, and, indeed, all the head- 
ings are modern, and utterly without Divine authority. 
The purpose of them is merely for convenience, in finding 
passages of Scripture. There is not only no authority for 
heading this passage as it is, or at all, but the heading 
alluded to is manifestly erroneous. It is no parable at all, 
but a statement of an actual case. This is evident from the 
wording of it. It is introduced by stating, "There was a 
certain rich man." This is too particular for a parable, or 
a supposed or hypothetical case. It points to a particular 
person. It is not "There was a rich man," but "There 
was a certain rich man." And then, on the other hand, it 
is not merely "There was a beggar," but "a certain beg- 
gar," pointing to a particular person. Then the Lord 
adds, "whose name was Lazarus;" thus giving the proper 
name of the "certain" person of whom he is speaking. 
Some have argued that " Lazarus " means jioor. True, it 
has that meaning now, but it had not then. The probability 
is that that meaning was derived from this very case. But 
any one can see that the word is not used in that sense. 
It is not "There was a certain beggar, who was Lazarus," 
but "whose name was Lazarus," or, more abbreviated, "named 
Lazarus." The statement of the case has every appearance of 
a real case, or an actual case, which the Lord knew to exist. 
But, not to argue the case, and for the sake of any one 
who may not be convinced that it is an actual case, but a 
supposed or hypothetical case, let it be observed that this 
will not in the least militate against the argument. The 
Lord did not suppose a case that would never occur. If he 
supposed a case, it was all founded in reality. This is the 



466 THE THREE STATES OF MAN— 

case with all types and shadows. They all have their foun- 
dation in reality. There never was a shadow without a 
substance. There never was a counterfeit without a genu- 
ine. All counterfeits are imitations of the genuine. There 
never would have been a counterfeit dollar if there had not 
been a genuine dollar. Even the false is evidence of the 
true. Every false god is an evidence of the true God. 
There never could have been a false god if there had not 
been a true God. There never could have been a false or 
counterfeit priest, if there had not been a true or genuine 
priest. The false is an imitation of the genuine. The false 
professor of religion is an imitation of the genuine, and proof 
of the existence of the genuine. The false professor is an 
attempted imitation of the genuine, but not the genuine, 
but an indisputable proof of the genuine. 

All the parables of our Lord are founded in reality. He 
never would have said "I am the vine; you are the 
branches," if there had not been a real vine and branches. 
He never would have said " The kingdom of God is like a 
fish-net," if there had not been a real fish-net. But in the 
case in hand, he does not say that one thing is like another, 
or something is like "a certain rich man," but "There teas 
a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine 
linen, and fared sumptuously every day." This "certain 
rich man" "died, and in hades he lifted up his eyes, being 
in torments." Supposed, or a real case, the conscious exist- 
ence after death is found in it. He is in "torments" after 
death. The beggar died, and was borne away by the angels 
to Abraham's bosom, and is comforted. Here, again, we 
have conscious existence after death. The rich man, after 
death, is in "torments," and Lazarus is "comforted." They 
are both in conscious existence. Their identity is retained. 
The rich man sees Lazarus and recognizes him. They are 
not in the same place. Lazarus is in Abraham's bosom; 



FLESHLY, INTERMEDIATE, AND ETERNAL STATE. 467 

the rich man is in another place, "far off;" a " great gulf 
between them/' so that they "can not pass" from one place 
to the other. The rich man is in " torments," and Lazarus 
is "comforted." This is a wide difference and a wonderful 
change in situations from that which existed before death. 

Much darkness exists touching the conditions and states 
after death, on account of the obscurity in the translation 
in common use. The three Greek words, gehenna, hades, 
and tartarus are represented by the one English Avord hell. 
These three Greek words evidently do not mean the same 
thing. In the sense of the Greeks, hades means the invisi- 
ble, or, as the Bible Union renders it, "under-world." It 
includes all the dead between death and the resurrection. 
Paradise, or Abraham's bosom, does not mean the same as 
hades. It is included in hades, but only contains the right- 
eous between death and the resurrection. In the same way, 
tartarus does not mean the same as hades. It is included 
in hades, but only contains the wicked between death and 
the resurrection. The rich man, though in hades, was not in 
tartarus; and Lazarus, though also in hades, was in Abra- 
ham's bosom, or, literally, in paradise, and there was a great 
gulf between them. But neither of them was in gehenna. 
Gehenna is beyond the resurrection, the lake of fire pre- 
pared for the devil and his angels. The wicked, after the 
eternal judgment, will be cast into the gehenna of fire pre- 
pared for the devil and his angels, "where the worm dies 
not, and the fire is not quenched." This is the final doom 
of the wicked. When the saints die, they go to paradise, 
and enjoy a state of rest or comfort till the resurrection. 
When the wicked die, they go to tartarus, to a " place of 
torment," where they remain till the resurrection. After 
the final judgment, the wicked go into gehenna, and the 
righteous into heaven, to remain forever. This will be dis- 
cussed more fully further on. 



468 THE THREE STATES OF MAN— 

One other matter of importance appears here, and that is, 
that the rich man desired that Lazarus should be sent to 
his five brothers, "to testify to them that they come not also 
into this place of torment." See Luke xvi : 28. Men are 
now maintaining that spirits are coming back from the dead 
and converting people. The great apostle of infidelity, it 
is claimed, was convinced of the existence of God by visit- 
ations from departed spirits, after all the testimony of the 
apostles and prophets had failed to convince him. Here, 
then, is a case in hand. The rich man applies, finding 
himself, after death, in a u place of torment," and intercedes 
for one from the dead, to be sent to testify to his five broth- 
ers, that they come not also to this " place of torment." Is 
one sent from the dead to convince them who would not 
believe Moses and the prophets? Certainly not. This 
would be to admit that the testimony of Moses and the 
prophets was insufficient. " Abraham says to him : They 
have Moses and the prophets : let them hear them." The rich 
man presses the case: "Nay, father Abraham; if one shall 
go to them from the dead, they will repent." Abraham 
replies : " If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither 
will they be persuaded though one should rise from the 
dead." Here, then, is the clear proof that God does not 
permit the dead to return to convince the living. Here, 
also, is the clear statement, that if they would not hear 
Moses and the prophets, they would not be persuaded if 
one would rise from the dead. This ought to be an ever- 
lasting quietus, and is with those who believe the Bible, 
touching departed spirits returning and converting their 
surviving friends. 

The very idea of our returning from the dead and con- 
verting persons who could not be converted by all the divine 
testimonies of Moses and the prophets, Jesus and the apostles, 
is supremely ridiculous. It is taking the position that de- 



FLESHLY, INTERMEDIATE, AND ETERNAL STATE. 469 

parted human spirits could achieve more in turning sin- 
ners to God and saving them, than Moses and the prophets, 
and Jesus and the apostles. This is clothed with an affront- 
ery, an arrogance, and absurdity almost unequaled. A few 
" table-tippers," " spirit-rappers," " spirit-mediums," or, in 
other words, persons possessed by unclean spirits, assuming 
to convince people who could not be convinced by either 
the mediator of the first, or the Mediator of the second 
covenant, Moses or Jesus, the prophets or apostles, is cer- 
tainly the climax of absurdity ! Then the convinced people, 
under this new system of mediation, spirit-mediation, human 
spirit-mediation, who could not be convinced by the divine 
mediation of him who was with God, and who was God; 
in whom dwells all the fullness of the Deity bodily, what 
a set of convinced people they are! What do they believe, 
now that they are convinced ? They believe nothing, and 
are nothing but wandering stars, raging waves of the sea, 
clouds without rain, unstable souls — mere subjects of du- 
plicity. They have not a redeeming quality, not an ele- 
ment to commend them or their teaching to a soul of our 
race. They have despised, rejected, and turned away from 
the Mediator of the New Testament, and are now seeking 
the mediation of human spirits of the dead ! How tran- 
scendently ridiculous and absurd! This is only equaled 
by king Saul, turning away from the commandment of God, 
and seeking light from "the woman of Endor." 

Paul says : " For we know that if our earthly house of 
this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, 
a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 
Who is this "we" that has our earthly house of the taber- 
nacle" — or of the body, which is the meaning of it — and who 
has " a building of God, a house not made with hands, eter- 
nal in the heavens?" See 2 Cor. v: 1. Is not this the 
being, the personality? " For," says the apostle, " in this we 



470 THE THREE STATES OF MAN— 

groan, longing to be clothed upon with our house which is 
from heaven: seeing that we should be found clothed, not 
naked." The person or the " we " in the tabernacle, is not 
the tabernacle or the body, but the tenant in the body. 
He proceeds: "Now he who has wrought us for this very 
thing is God, who also gave to us the earnest of the Spirit. 
Being, therefore, always confident, and knowing that while 
at home in the body we are absent from the Lord, (for we 
walk by faith, not by sight,) we are confident, and are well 
pleased rather to leave our home in the body, and to be at 
home with the Lord." "We," the person, the being, may 
be " at home in the body," or " may leave our home in the 
body, and be at home with the Lord;" or, as it is in the 
common version, present with the Lord. When we die, we 
leave home in the body; are absent from the body, and at 
home, or present with the Lord. 

Shall we hear the apostle again? "I knew a man in 
Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I 
know not ; or whether out of the body, I know not : God 
knows,) such a one caught up even to the third heaven. 
And I knew such a man, (whether in the body or without 
the body, I know not: God knows,) that he was caught up 
into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not 
lawful for a man to utter." 2 Cor. xii: 2-4. The apostle 
here states what he knew as a matter of fact, and what he 
did not know. What did he know? 1. He knew a man 
in Christ. 2. That such an one, above fourteen years ago 
(when Paul wrote), was caught up to the third heaven — to 
paradise. 3. That he heard unspeakable things, not lawful 
to utter. These things he knew. What, then, did he not 
know? He did not know whether the man was caught 
away to paradise in the body or out of the body. Two 
things are clearly involved here: 1. That the man of whom 
Paul speaks w r as not the body, but dwelt in the body. 2. 



FLESHLY, INTERMEDIATE, AND ETERNAL STATE. 471 

That the man could have been caught away to paradise in 
the body. 3. That the man could have been caught away 
to paradise out of the body. Then it follows, also, that a 
man can see, hear, and remember out of, or separate from, 
the body ; or that a man may be separate from the body 
and be conscious ; or that a man may be cognizant of things 
transpiring around him, separate from the body. This per- 
fectly accords with another saying of the apostle, found 2 
Cor. iv : 16: "For which cause we faint not; but though 
our outward man perishes, yet the inward man is renewed 
day by day." The " outward man " is the body. Though 
it perishes, the "inward man/' who dwells in the body, is 
renewed day by day. While the body is becoming enfeebled, 
weaker, and decaying, the " inner man," the spiritual man, 
is continually being renewed, invigorated, and sustained; 
and when the body dies, the " inner man " absents himself 
from the body, leaves the home in the body, and is present, 
or at home with the Lord. 

This shows that life and death does not mean merely ex- 
istence and non-existence, and that eternal life and the second 
death does not mean merely eternal existence and eternal 
non-existence, but that life and death have reference to two 
states of existence; so eternal life and the second death have 
reference to two states of existence — the one a state of 
existence in happiness, and the other a state of existence 
in punishment. This is clearly taught in other scriptures. 
For instance : " These shall go away into everlasting pun- 
ishment, but the righteous into life eternal." Here is "eter- 
nal life" in contrast with "everlasting punishment." The 
original Greek word aionion, translated " eternal " on the 
one hand, is translated " everlasting " on the other. At the 
same time the righteous enter into eternal life, the wicked 
enter into everlasting punishment. Entering into " eternal 
life " here can not be entering into eternal existence, for 



472 THE THREE STATES OF MAN — 

they were already in existence; and if that existence was 
to be continued eternally, still they were already in it, and 
could not enter into that which they were already in. Xor 
could it mean entering into eternal conscious existence; for 
they were already in conscious existence, and could not enter 
into that which they were already in. If they were already 
in conscious existence, and it was to be eternal, they could 
not enter into it. To make "eternal life" there mean 
eternal existence, or eternal conscious existence, is to do 
away with all idea of their entering into it; for they Mere 
already in existence, and conscious existence; and if that 
existence is eternal, they were already in eternal existence. 
Then there is no such thing as " going away into ever- 
lasting non-existence." This would be utterly senseless. 
As we can think of and understand the commencement of 
existence, so can we understand the termination of existence; 
or, as we can understand bringing into existence, we can 
understand going out of existence; or, as we can understand 
the Lord giving existence, we can understand the talcing 
existence. 

The Lord said to the thief on the cross : " To-day, I say 
to you, shall you be with me in paradise." Paradise never 
means the grave. Nor does it ever mean the state of the 
dead in general, of all classes, but is limited exclusively to 
the saved. While it was true that both our Lord and the 
thief were to die that day, it was not true that they were 
going out of conscious existence, or that the entire being- 
were going into their graves, but they were that day to be 
in paradise. King David, the Psalmist of Israel, when his 
child died, said, "He can not come to me: I shall go to 
him." John says : " I saw under the altar the souls of them 
who were beheaded for the word of God, and for the testi- 
mony of Jesus; and they cried and said, How long, O Lord 
God Almighty, holy, just, and true, dost thou not avenge 



FLESHLY, INTERMEDIATE, AND ETERNAL STATE. 473 

us of our blood on them that dwell on the earth ? n What 
did he see under the altar? Not the bodies, but the souls 
of theui who were beheaded for the word of God, and for 
the testimony of Jesus. These were souls after death. Do 
you say this was only a figurative representation shown to 
John in vision? A figurative representation of what? Of 
something that had no existence ? A figurative representa- 
tion of souls, visible, under the altar ; conscious, and crying 
to heaven for vengeance after death, when souls are to have 
no conscious existence after death? Would God represent 
something figuratively that had no existence ? No ; such a 
thing is absurd. It was in vision, representing not things 
that had no existence, but grand and sublime realities that 
had existence. No matter, so far as the argument is con- 
cerned, whether John literally saw the souls of them that 
were beheaded, or the Lord represented them to him in 
vision. If he literally saw souls under the altar, and heard 
them crying, and understood what they cried after death, it 
settles the question of conscious existence between death 
and the resurrection, or the conscious existence" of the souls 
of men, separate from the bodies, after death. From this 
there is no escape. If the Lord represented this to John 
in vision, it settles the same thing, unless he represented 
something that had no existence. To say this is infidelity. 
The Lord represented realities, things that existed, and not 
myths, having no existence. Souls have conscious existence 
separate from their bodies ; and are waiting for the adoption, 
to wit, the redemption of their bodies, or the resurrection 
of their bodies from the dead. 

The stupendous works of the Almighty Father of heaven 
and earth in creation were grand. So are his works won- 
derful, grand, and sublime in providence. But what shall 
be said, and what shall be thought, of his stupendous work 
in the ransom of the bodies of the children of men from 
40 



474 THE THREE STATES OF MAN— 

the grave? What shall we say or think, or what can we 
say of the grand transaction, when God, by the Spirit of 
Christ that dwells in the saints, shall quicken their mortal 
bodies, or make their mortal bodies alive and raise them 
up from the dead; when the sea shall yield up the dead 
bodies that are in it j when the graves of all the earth shall 
give up the dead bodies; when death itself shall be despoiled 
of its power, and yield up all the dead so long held down 
under its awful grasp, and hades shall release and deliver 
up all its subjects; when we shall see them coming from 
the four quarters of the earth, and assembling in the eternal 
judgment; when the books shall be opened, and another 
book shall be opened, which is the book of life; and the 
dead shall be judged out of the things written in the books, 
according to their works? This will be the last meeting, 
and after it will follow the last separation. After the final 
judgment, the separation shall take place: "He shall di- 
vide them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep 
from the goats," as the Lord describes — Matt, xxv: 32 — 
setting the one class on his right hand, and the other on his 
left. Those whose names shall not be found in the book 
of life shall be cast into the lake of fire, as described Rev. 
xx : 14; "into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and 
his angels," as described by the Lord himself, Matt, xxv: 
41 ; into the gehenna, where the fire shall never be quenched, 
and the worm shall never die. This is the second death. 
This is the last account of those who obey not the Gospel 
of our Lord Jesus Christ; of those who can not be won to 
Christ by all his love, his compassion, his merciful entreat- 
ies; by all his agonies in the garden, his wonderful suffer- 
ings on the cross, his streaming blood ; by his holy life, his 
prayers and tears; by the holy efforts of all the saints, their 
prayers and tears; by the reasonings, persuasions, and warn- 
ings of their dying friends. This is the last account, the last 



FLESHLY, INTERMEDIATE, AND ETERNAL STATE. 475 

trace of those whom we can not bring to God. We have wept 
over them, prayed over them, and grieved over them. We 
have exhausted our last resources, made our last efforts, and 
have been compelled to yield the point. The last and best 
appeal of heaven has been made and failed. They have 
turned away from it all, and dashed the cup of salvation 
from their lips, and rejected the Savior of the world. On 
their part all is lost. They are ruined forever. They are 
turned away from God, who loved them; from the Savior, 
who died for them; from the angels, who waited to have 
ministered to them had they come to God; from the saints, 
who prayed, wept over them, and tried to save them ; from 
all that is good, and pure, and holy, and are cast off forever. 
The saints give them up, like they do their friends in death, 
because they can do no more for them. They would not 
go with the children of God. They would not be recon- 
ciled to God. They determined to have their own way. 
They chose the wicked for their associates while in this 
world, and now are compelled to have them, with the devil 
and his angels, for their associates forever. They are aban- 
doned forever. No saint in the whole kingdom desires to 
follow them any further, but all lament that they could not 
save them. 

Turning to a more pleasing theme, what account have we 
of the saints after the resurrection? Their Lord and Re- 
deemer shall say to them, "Come, blessed of my Father, 
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 
of the world." " Well done, good and faithful ; enter into 
the joys of our Lord." Then will they be seen coming, in 
the immortal splendors of the New Jerusalem, with crowns 
on their heads, palms of victory in their hands, and songs 
of everlasting joys on their lips, in the grand procession, 
which no man could number. AVho can comprehend the 
stupendous procession when the mighty hosts of Israel of 



476 THE THREE STATES OF MAN— 

old, the most formidable column of humanity ever seen on 
the face of the earth, with Moses, the mediator of the first 
covenant, at their head, moved forward in crossing the Red 
Sea, out of Egyptian bondage, and the strains of praises 
that rose to heaven in view of a nation's freedom from most 
oppressive bondage? No one can comprehend this. What, 
then, must be our best effort to comprehend the imposing, 
stupendous, and sublime scenes, when the great assembly 
which John saw, which no man could number, from every 
nation, kindred, tribe, tongue, and people, in one grand and 
imposing column shall move forward to the gate of the ever- 
lasting city, and the doors shall fly wide, and the everlasting 
gates shall be lifted up, and the King of glory shall again 
come in and be welcomed by all the mighty hierarchs of 
the upper world? What must our best efforts be to com- 
prehend, much less describe, the mighty procession, as it 
shall move forward, with the Mediator of the new covenant 
and their Redeemer in front, and exclaiming, " Father, here 
am I, and here are the children thou hast given me!" and 
when they shall chime in and unite in the grand song of 
"Blessing, and glory, and honor, and power, and dominion, 
to the Lord our God ? " Then shall what was shown to John 
in vision appear in reality. He says: "'And I heard as it 
were the voice of a great multitude, and as the sound of 
many waters, and as the sound of mighty thunders, saying : 
Alleluia ; because the Lord God the Almighty reigns. Let 
us rejoice and exalt, and we will give to him the glory; 
because the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife 
made herself ready. And it was given to her that she 
should be clothed in fine linen, pure and shining; for the 
fine linen is the righteousness of the saints." " Behold, the 
tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, 
and they shall be his people, and God with them himself 
shall be their God. And he shall wipe away all tears from 



FLESHLY, INTERMEDIATE, AND ETERNAL STATE. 477 

their eyes; and death shall be no more, nor shall mourning, 
nor crying, nor pain, be any more: because the former 
things are passed away. And he who sat on the throne 
said, Behold, I make all things new. And he says, Write ; 
because these words are faithful and true." 

What a "gloom was cast over the earth when man sinned. 
The world was condemned, and the sentence of death passed 
upon ail ! For six thousand years the executioner has been 
doing his work, inflicting the death penalty. No way of 
escape has been found. The inflexible law has gone forth : 
You shall surely die. There is no alternative. This penalty 
can not be revoked. But the Lord has come, and followed 
the condemned to the execution, and beyond it: "I will 
ransom them from the grave." After the penalty has been 
inflicted, I will raise man from the dead, and those whose 
names are enrolled in the book of life shall be robed in 
white, and walk with me in the streets of the New Jerusa- 
lem, for they are worthy. What a grand triumph, when 
they shall shout, "O, death, where now is thy sting? O, 
hades, where now is thy victory?" They can then look 
back to death and shout the victory : We are free from your 
darts and missiles forever! and look back to hades and 
exclaim, We are free from your prison-house forever ! Our 
great Deliverer has cleansed our souls from sin, in his own 
blood, and, by his omnipotent power, raised us from the 
dead and freed us from the fetters of the grave forever. He 
has lifted us up and seated us at his own right hand in the 
holy city, and has given us riches, and glories, and honors, 
transcending all human description. He has permitted us 
to join the grand throng who shall walk the golden streets, 
and unite in the celestial songs forever and ever. We shall 
never sin any more, and never have to hang our heads in 
shame, confess and beg for pardon. But with the angels 
of God, the pure and the holy, the just and the true; 



478 THE THREE STATES OF MAN. 

in the presence of our Father and our God, with our most 
gracious Lord, who has redeemed us, dwell forever and 
ever. 

The Lord Jesus, the stone rejected by the Jewish builders, 
but the chief, or arch, in the foundation which God laid; 
the head over all things to the Church ; in whom all fullness 
dwells, who has been the grand center of attraction of our 
afflictions; the chief among all the ten thousands and alto- 
gether lovely, will then dwell in our midst, honored and ad- 
mired by all the upper world. Those who loved him here will 
love him there, and be like him; for they shall see him as he 
is. They shall need no light of the sun, nor any artificial 
light; for the Lord God and the Lamb shall be the light of 
the holy city. In ineffable bliss, inexpressible happiness, 
and joys that shall never end, they shall bask forever and 
ever. Xo want, no anxiety and solicitude; nor fear, nor 
gloom, nor dreary forebodings; no more heart-aching, heart- 
burning, nor heart-bleeding ; no more doubts, uncertainties, 
and want of confidence ; no more deceptions, delusions, and 
impositions; no more coldness, lukewarmness, nor back- 
sliding, forever. The saints have reached their home, their 
everlasting rest, and all is well with them forever. They are 
beyond the reach of trial, of temptation, and danger, on "the 
other side of Jordan," in the eternal Canaan, the "rest re- 
maining for the people of God." The broken hearts are all 
healed, the wounded spirits all bound up, and their griefs all 
gone. All their tears are wiped away forever. There shall 
be no more crying nor sorrowing, no more pain nor suffer- 
ing forever. 

To the name of our God and our Lord Jesus the Christ, 
be honor and power everlasting. 



'SERMON, No. XX 



THEME -THE PUNISHMENT AFTER DEATH OF THOSE WHO DIE IN THEIR 

SINS. 

TEXT- " The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and 
to reserve the unjust to the daj^ of judgment, to be punished."— 2 Pet. 



The theme selected for this discourse is one of transcend- 
ent importance to every accountable human being. All 
who have any respect for the Bible speak and think of it 
as containing the law of God. The idea of law without a 
penalty is nothing short of the most idle fiction. All law 
contains penalty. Indeed, the very idea of law implies 
penalty. The law of God, the highest, the grandest, and 
most sublime law known to mortal man, has not only a 
penalty, but the most terrible, fearful, and awful penalty 
ever described by human tongue as its divine sanction. Its 
salvation, therefore, means something. Its pardon, justifi- 
cation, and deliverance of the soul from sin means some- 
thing. It is not the empty vaporings of a Universalist 
about salvation, who denies that any man is saved from sin 
in this life, and maintains that all men, not excepting such 
a man as Paul the apostle, are sinners as long as they live 
in this world; who also denies that there will be any sin, 
lake of fire, hell, second death, or punishment of any kind 
in the world to come, from which any human being can be 

(479) 



480 THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 

saved. Such a man knows not the meaning of the word 
salvation, and certainly attaches no idea to it, except one 
the most vague and unintelligible. The penalty of the 
Bible means something. Our glorious Lord did not ask 
"How can you escape the condemnation of hell?" nor speak 
of "eternal condemnation" and "everlasting punishment;" 
of men being "cast into hell, where the fire shall never be 
quenched, and where the worm dies not;" or of "the false 
prophets" being "tormented day and night forever and 
ever," to scare people, but to warn them. " Knowing the 
terrors of the Lord, we persuade men" says Paul. "It is 
a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." 
The Lord speaks of a man for whom it would have been 
better not to have been born. 

None have ventured to deny right out that the law of 
God, as recorded in the Bible, has any penalty. Xone, till 
in very modern times, have had the temerity to deny that 
those who die in their sins will be punished after death. 
In history there is mention of a class of men, in compara- 
tively ancient times, who were restorationists. These held 
that there would be a punishment after death, but main- 
tained that it would terminate, and all its subjects would 
finally be saved. But, among other queer and novel things 
in our own time, a class of religious adventurers have made 
their appearance, who entertain the envious, credulous, and 
gullible with harangues, both extemporaneous and written, 
exhibiting their adroitness, shrewdness, and sharpness in 
explaining all the scriptures that speak of the devil or 
Satan in some way so as to avoid the idea of any literal 
or personal devil, or real being, or any thing more than 
the personification of evil or the evil principle; as also so 
explaining all those scriptures that speak of, or in any way 
imply a judgment or punishment after death, so as to accord 
with, or, at least, not refute their theory of ineffable bliss 



THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 481 

for all beyond this life. The demoralizing tendency of 
such teaching and theorizing has been immense, all going 
to strengthen unbelievers in their unbelief and harden their 
hearts. As the prophet expresses it : " With lies you have 
made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made 
sad ; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should 
not return from his wicked way, by promising him life." 
Ez. xiii: 22. 

Without detaining you, please turn at once to the con- 
sideration of the following points: 

1. An adequate punishment is not inflicted in this life. 

2. There will be a judgment and punishment after death. 

3. It is reasonable and just that the punishment after 
death should be of great duration. 

4. The Scriptures clearly teach that the punishment after 
death will be unlimited in its duration. 

Then, without delay or further preliminary, at once please 
give attention to the first point to be considered: 

1. An adequate punishment is not inflicted in this life. 
That men receive not a full and adequate punishment for 
their sins in this world, is clear from Scripture. This is 
more than intimated in the text: "The Lord knows how 
to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the 
unjust to the day of judgment to be punished." In this 
scripture the teaching is, that the unjust are "reserved to the 
day of judgment to be punished" and not that they are 
judged or punished as they go along in this life. This one 
scripture ought to settle the matter with men who trem- 
ble at the word of God. But hear the scripture again: 
"The heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same 
word are kept in store, reserved to fire against the day of 
judgment and perdition of ungodly men." 2 Pet. iii : 7. 
Here, too, instead of fitting out punishment to men as they 
pass along through this life, the very heavens and earth, 
41 



482 THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 

which are now, are kept in store, reserved to fire against the 
clay of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. This, be- 
yond dispute, points forward to the day of judgment and 
perdition of ungodly men, and does not refer to it as some- 
thing now going on. 

Paul says, "He who despised the law of Moses died 
without mercy, on the testimony of two or three witnesses;" 
and follows this statement with the following question : " Of 
how much sorer punishment, do you suppose, he shall be 
considered deserving, who has trodden under foot the Son 
of God, and has accounted the blood of the covenant, with 
which he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and has done 
despite to the Spirit of grace?" Heb. x: 29. Here, beyond 
all doubt, "a sorer punishment than death without mercy" 
or a severer punishment, is threatened, which can not be 
inflicted in this life. Death without mercy is the severest 
punishment possible in this life; and yet the apostle, by 
implication, brings to view a severer punishment than death 
without mercy, which must be the punishment to which 
wicked men are reserved. 

Again, hear an apostle: "Because the time is come that 
judgment must begin at the house of God : and if it first 
begin at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not 
the Gospel of God?" 1 Pet, iv: 17. The question here 
is not what shall be the punishment, as they pass along 
through this life, of them who obey not the Gospel of God, 
but "what shall be the end?" The punishment that the 
apostle looked to is not inflicted as men pass along through 
this life, but in winding up; it is their end, last or final 
state. Paul, Heb. vi : 8, does not speak of those whose lot 
is to be burned as they pass along through this world ; but, 
speaking of the final condition of the wicked, he - 
"Whose end is to be burned." That "end" is not the life 
of wicked men, or something occurring as they pass along 



THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 483 

in life, but something beyond life, the last state — the end. 
You can not find a heaven for a man beyond his last state 
or end. 

Many other scriptures could be referred to, showing, be- 
yond all doubt, that a full and complete punishment is not 
inflicted in this world. But some men can regard what 
they see and hear, who will not regard the Bible. What 
may be observed in this world, with people who think and 
reason for themselves, ought to convince any man that a 
full and complete retribution is not awarded in this life, 
either to the good or bad. On the one hand, some of the 
purest and best of mankind suffer in mind and body in 
this life, almost without mitigation. Their last days are 
filled up with troubles of mind, by the transgressions of 
those allied to them by the ties of the flesh. They languish 
for long months, and in some instances for years, in beds 
of affliction. In this life, there appears to them to be but 
little else than bitterness, sorrow, and suffering. On the 
other hand, there are those who never know want, sickness, 
or suffering; whose relations bring no scandal on them, or 
cause them any grief, but who are not simply ungodly, but 
blasphemers, drunkards, and lecherous persons till the last; 
who give others trouble indescribable, but never have any 
trouble themselves, and, at last, go out of this world with- 
out an hour's suffering. No one need talk of what such 
men suffer in their conscience. They know not the meaning 
of the word conscience. Now, it is simply a matter of fact, 
that in these two cases the award is not made in this life. 
To say that it is, is to say that the reward of the righteous 
is so insignificant that persons receive it, as they pass along 
through this life, without knowing that they had received 
it at all, or knowing what it was; and that the punishment 
of the wicked, or the hell threatened in the Bible, is so 
light, so exceedingly mild, that thousands are actually pass- 



484 THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 

ing through it, suffering its torments, without knowing it at 
all! Is it the case that men may have all the rewards 
promised the righteous in the Bible on the one hand, and 
suffer all the torments threatened in the Bible on the other 
hand, and never know it? If the heaven of the righteous 
is in this world, and the righteous enjoy it in this life; and 
if the hell of the wicked is in this life, and they suffer its 
torments in this world, then heaven and its' happiness, as 
well as hell and its torments, are of much less consequence 
than men have generally supposed. 

But this is not true, or the apostle could not have said, " If 
in this life only we have hope, we are of all men most miser- 
able." Then the Lord could not have said, " Whoever de- 
nies me before men, him will I also deny before my Father 
and the angels ; " nor could any one conceive how we could 
" lay up treasure in heaven," or " lay up a good foundation 
against the time to come, in order to lay hold of eternal life." 
Nothing can be more clear than that the first Christians did 
not receive their reward in this world, and that they did not 
think they received it. All the martyrs looked for a reward 
beyond this life, and refused to deny the Lord, because they 
feared they would lose the eternal reward. But now your 
attention will be called to a second proposition : 

2. There icill be a judgment and punishment after death. 
An account of the case of the rich man and Lazarus is re- 
corded Luke xvi : 19-36. In verse 22 we are informed that 
" The rich man died, and was buried ; and in hell he lifted 
up his eyes, being in torment." This is the Lord's own 
statement. The rich man himself testified, as reported by 
the Lord, saying, " I am tormented in this flame." Abra- 
ham testified, as the Savior reports him, saying, " Thou art 
tormented." The only use here made of this case is to show 
clearly that a man was in torment after death. This the case 
does show as clearly as language can express any thing. In 



THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 485 

connection with this case, see Luke xii : 4, 5 : " Be not afraid 
of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that 
they can do; but I will forewarn you whom you shall fear: 
fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into 
hell; yea, I say to you, fear him." Here the Lord is ad- 
monishing his disciples to fear God, because he not only can 
kill, but, after that, cast into hell. This could not be true 
if there were «no hell beyond this life, or beyond death ; but 
" after that" — after the death of the body — the Lord speaks 
of easting into hell. This Hinnom, or Gehenna, is after death, 
and the soul may be cast into it as well as the body. It 
is useless to speak of the ancient Valley of Hinnom, as its 
fires had been done away more than four hundred years be- 
fore the Lord uttered this language, and then souls after 
death never were cast into it. 

But in the text, with which this discourse commences, the 
apostle says, "The Lord knows how to deliver the godly 
out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust to the day of 
judgment to be punished" In the same letter, chapter iii, 
verse 7, the apostle says : " The heavens and the earth, which 
are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved to 
fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly 
men." These passages are both in the same spirit, setting 
forth the fact that the world is reserved to the day of judg- 
ment. In connection with this, please hear Paul giving 
charge to a young preacher: "I charge you, therefore, be- 
fore God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the 
living and the dead at his appearing and kingdom." 2 
Tim. iv: 1. Here is a reference to the judgment of the 
dead at the appearing and kingdom of Christ. This con- 
nects the coming of Christ and judgment together ; and 
shows, by the reference to the judgment of the dead as well 
as the living, that the judgment will be after death. The 
apostle Peter — Acts x: 42 — teaches the same in the follow- 



486 THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 

ing words : "And he commanded us to preach to the people, 
and to testify that it is he who was ordained of God the 
Judge of the living and the dead." Here again is a refer- 
ence to the judgment of the dead. There must be explicit 
light afforded on this point to show that the dead will be 
judged, as some are slow to learn. This same apostle Peter, 
speaking of a certain class of the dead, viz., the antedilu- 
vians, tells us the divine purpose in preaching the Gospel 
to them in the days of Noah, in the following words : " That 
they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but 
live according to God in the spirit." 1 Pet. iv : 6. In the 
verse preceding this, sj^eaking of other vile characters, " who 
shall give account to him who is ready to judge the living 
and the dead" the dead are included, showing that the 
Lord will judge the dead. 

If the foregoing is not sufficient to satisfy any candid 
man that the Lord will judge the dead, look at the fol- 
lowing: "But I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for 
Tyre and Sidon, in the day of judgment, than for you." 
Matt, xi : 22. Hear the Lord again : " For I say to you, 
that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, in the 
day of judgment, than for you." Sodom had been buried in 
ruins ages before the Lord uttered this language, and the 
cities of Tyre and Sidon had been destroyed from the face 
of the earth many long centuries before the Lord uttered 
these words; yet he declared that they should appear in the 
judgment of which he was speaking, and that it should be 
more tolerable for their inhabitants than for the Je\v>, to 
whom he spoke. No man ever made even a plausible show 
of argument on the question under review, who denies that 
these passages clearly show that there will be a judgment 
after death. 

But, if you please, attend to our Lord's teaching still 
further. He says: "The men of Nineveh shall rise in 



THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 487 

judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: be- 
cause they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and behold, 
a greater than Jonas is here. The Queen of the South shall 
rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall con- 
demn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth 
to hear the wisdom of Solomon ; and behold, a greater than 
Solomon is here." Matt, xii: 41, 42. From the Scriptures 
now quoted, it is clear that the antediluvians, those of Tyre 
and Sidon, the Sodomites, the Ninevites, and the Queen of 
Sheba, all dead and gone ages before the Lord uttered the 
words quoted, are all to appear in the judgment of which 
he spoke. But this is not all; there are more than all these 
to be there. Look at the following : " For God spared not 
the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and 
delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved to 
judgment." Here is the clear teaching that the angels are 
reserved to judgment. They will, then, be in the judgment. 
Please hear of these angels that sinned once more : "And 
the angels who kept not their first estate, but left their own 
habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains under 
darkness to the judgment of the great day." Jude 6. 
There has been no judgment in this world, since the writ- 
ing of the Scriptures, at which the citizens of Tyre and 
Sidon, of the land of Sodom, of Nineveh, the Queen of 
Sheba, the antediluvians, the angels who sinned, and those 
to whom the Savior, in his ministry, spoke, to say nothing 
of all who have lived since, were present. The reason is, 
that " it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the 
judgment." Heb. ix : 27. " Christ was once offered to 
bear the sins of many; and to them who look for him shall 
he appear the second time without sin (sin offering) to sal- 
vation." 

The next thing shall be to show that the coming of Christ, 
the resurrection of the dead, and the judgment, will all be 



488 TUE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 

connected together. Indeed, the passage just quoted places 
the judgment after death and the coming of Christ at the 
same period. Paul quotes Isa. xlv : 23-25, and applies it 
to the resurrection state, Rom. xiv : 10, 11. Hear him : 
" But why do you judge your brother ? or why do you set 
at naught your brother? for we shall all stand before the 
judgment-seat of Christ." Xow hear him prove this last 
statement. "For," says he, "it is written, As I live, says 
the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue 
shall confess to God. So, then, every one of us shall give an 
account of himself to God." Thus, you perceive, the very 
passage quoted thousands of times to prove that all men 
will be saved, and applied to the resurrection state, from 
the forty-fifth chapter of Isaiah, is quoted by Paul — Rom. 
xiv: 10, 11 — and also applied to the resurrection state, to 
prove that we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of 
Christ, and every one of us give an account of himself to God. 
This settles the question about the judgment after death. 

But now turn to 1 Cor. xv : 22, 23, and hear Paul : "As 
by Adam all die, even so by Christ shall all be made alive. 
But every man in his own proper band: Christ the first- 
fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming." The 
making all alive mentioned here will be in the resurrection 
of the dead. This passage is very elliptical, and, filling up 
the ellipsis, will read as follows: "As by Adam all die, eveD 
so by Christ shall all be made alive. But every one made 
alive in his own proper band : Christ the first-fruits made 
alive; afterward they that arc Christ's made alive at his coin- 
ing." When shall this making alive be? The apostle says 
"at his coming." This making alive will be in the resur- 
rection and "at his coming." This, beyond doubt, places 
the resurrection at the coming of Christ. But it docs more 
than this: it discriminates between those who are C/iri.sfs 
and those who are not Chrises at the coming of Christ and 



THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 489 

the resurrection of the dead. The expression "they that 
are Christ's" implies that there are others who are not 
Christ's; and this discrimination between those who are 
Christ's and those who are not Christ's is at the coming of 
Christ and the resurrection of the dead. Paul makes the 
same kind of discrimination in his allusion to the resurrec- 
tion of the dead, in his reply to Tertullus, Acts xxiv : 14. 
He says, " There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of 
the just and the unjust." The Lord himself makes the 
same discrimination in the words, " You shall be recom- 
pensed at the resurrection of the just." An intimation of 
the same discrimination is found Luke xx : 35, in the fol- 
lowing words : " They who shall be accounted worthy to 
obtain that world and the resurrection from the dead." See, 
also, Dan. xii: 2: "And many of them that slept in the dust 
of the earth shall awake j some to everlasting life, and some 
to shame and everlasting contempt." The prophet follows 
in the same connection : "And they who are wise shall shine 
as the brightness of the firmament ; and they who turn many 
to righteousness as the stars forever and ever." The same 
in substance is found in the Lord's own words, John v : 28, 
29: "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the 
which all those who are in their graves shall hear his voice, 
and shall come forth ; they who have done good to the res- 
urrection of life; and they who have done evil, to the resur- 
rection of condemnation." Thus it is clear that in all these 
grand allusions to the resurrection of the dead, the grand 
and awful discriminations are kept up between the righteous 
and the wicked. This part of the argument will be closed 
with John's account of the matter, as the whole was repre- 
sented to him in the island of Patmos. He appeared to 
have had passed before him, in grand pantomimic view, the 
whole period called "time," the delivering up of the souls 
in the unseen state, the raising and collecting of the bodies 



490 THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 

of the dead from sea and land, and says : " I saw the dead, 
small and great, stand before God: and the books were 
opened; and another book was opened, which is the book 
of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which 
were written in the books, according to their works." 

Now turn your eye back, and take one candid look at 
these wonderful expressions touching the resurrection, and 
see the continual discriminations between the righteous and 
the wicked, such as "they who are Christ's" "they who 
shall be accounted worthy" " the resurrection of the just" 
"a resurrection both of the just and the unjust" "they 
who shall be wise" "they who shall turn many to right- 
eousness," "they who have done good and they who have 
done evil" "were judged every man according to his works" 
and then tell what these continued and oft-repeated dis- 
criminations between the righteous and the wicked mean, 
made in reference to men in the resurrection of the dead, 
the coming of the Lord, and the day of judgment. Bear 
in mind, it is in reference to the state of things after death, 
where the living and dead, as they are now, shall be pres- 
ent. The antediluvians, those of Tyre, Sidon, of the laud 
of Sodom, Gomorrah, Nineveh, the Queen of Sheba, and the 
angels who sinned; those to whom the Lord spoke while 
in his great mission on earth; all who are in their graves, 
and all alive on earth, are to appear in that judgment, and 
be judged according to their works. Those whose names 
are not found written in the book of life shall be cast into 
the lake of fire. Here is the last state of the disobedient, 
or those who die in their sins. 

But while grasping and condensing as much as possible 
into a narrow space, that all may have a glance at it, please 
turn your attention to another class of testimony touching 
the state of those who die in their sins. The passages now 
to be introduced are negative proofs, some of which have 



THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 491 

already been quoted. The Lord says, " He who believes on 
the Son, has everlasting life: but he who believes not the 
Son, shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him." 
John iii: 36. This passage looks forward as far as unbe- 
lievers can be found, and declares, in the most unequivocal 
terms, that "he who believes not the Son shall not see life. 
In Jude 12, 13, these are described: "They are clouds with- 
out water, carried about by winds; trees whose fruit with- 
ers, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; 
raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; 
wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of dark- 
ness forever." This description certainly follows those to 
their last state. Hear the apostle again : " For many walk, 
of whom I have told often, and now tell you, even weep- 
ing, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose 
end is destruction." Phil, iii: 18, 19. If the last state 
or the end of these persons is destruction, it is certainly use- 
less to speak of their ever being saved. The same high 
and holy authority, comparing persons of corrupt character 
to "thorns and briers," says they are "rejected and nigh 
to cursing, whose end is to be burned" Heb. vi: 8. Here 
is the last state or the end of persons whom the apostle 
declares it impossible to renew again to repentance; they 
"are nigh to cursing, and their end is to be burned." Hear 
the Lord while this momentous question is under investi- 
gation. He says, "If you believe not that I am he, you 
shall die in your sins." John viii: 24. Just before, he 
had said, "You shall seek me and shall die in your sins: 
whither I go you can not come." One of these expressions 
declares that those who believe not shall die in their sins, 
and the other that those who die in their sins shall not go 
where the Lord is, or shall not enjoy him. These scrip- 
tures never were and never can be harmonized with the 
theory that all will be saved. 



492 THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 

One man, like many idle and speculative persons now, 
while the Lord was engaged in his public mission, inquired 
of him, " Lord, are there few that be saved ? n Had some 
religious guides been there, they would have responded, 
Blessed Master, they will all be saved. But our Lord gave 
that man a much more solemn lesson than that. He replied 
to the man: "Strive to enter in at the straight gate: for 
many, I say to you, shall seek to enter in, but shall not be 
able. When once the Master of the house is risen up, and 
has shut the door, and you begin to stand without, and 
knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us ; and he 
shall answer and say to you, I know you not whence you 
are : then shall you begin to say, We have eat and drank 
in thy presence, and thou has taught in our streets. But he 
shall say, I know not whence you are; depart from me, all 
you workers of iniquity." Luke xiii: 23-27. This lan- 
guage can never apply to men in this world. "Those who 
seek, shall find;" "those who ask, shall receive;" to "those 
who knock, it shall be opened;" "whoever will, let him 
come ; " " he who comes to me, I will in nowise cast out," 
is the language of the Lord to men in this world. As we 
sing, "The doors of Gospel grace stand open night and 
day." But the language of the Lord to the idle man, in- 
quiring "Are there few that be saved ? " refers to a period 
of time when the doors of grace shall be shut ; when appli- 
cants for admission shall not gain an entrance; when they 
shall seek to enter in, but shall not be able ; when they shall 
be thrust away, with the awful words, " Depart, you workers 
of iniquity: I know you not." Here follows the Lord's 
reason why he would not receive them : " Because I have 
called, and you refused ; I have stretched out my hand, and 
no man regarded; but you have set at naught all my coun- 
sel, and would none of my reproof. I also will laugh at 
your calamity; I will mock when your fear comes; when 



THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 493 

your fear comes as desolation, and your destruction comes as 
a whirlwind ; when distress and anguish comes on you. Then 
shall you call on me, but I will not answer ; you shall seek 
me early, but shall not find me." Prov. i : 24-28. This 
reaches beyond time, beyond the day of grace, beyond this 
world, beyond all Gospel invitation, beyond all space for re- 
pentance. To this list but one more shall now be added. 
That one contains the closing words of the New Testament : 
" If any man shall take away from the words of the book 
of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the 
book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things 
that are written in this book." Rev. xxii : 19. 

Please now glance your eye over this list, and grasp as 
far as possible the amount contained in it. What, then, shall 
be thought of the man who will try to prove that all will be 
saved, when the Lord declares of some that they "shall not 
see life" — that "the wrath of God abides on them" — who 
" die in their sins," of whom the Lord said, " Whither I go 
you can not come ; " those whom he compares to " trees twice 
dead, and plucked up by the roots ; " " to whom is reserved 
the blackness of darkness forever ; " " whose end is destruc- 
tion ; " who are " rejected, nigh to cursing ; whose end is to 
be burned ; " who shall " seek to enter in, but shall not be 
able," but shall be thrust away, followed by the sentence, 
" Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity ; " whom the 
Lord shall "mock when their fear comes," and who shall 
have "their part taken away out of the book of life, and 
out of the holy city?" Let it be repeated: what shall be 
thought of the man who shall teach and try to prove that 
those to whom this language applies shall be saved ? Does 
he believe his Bible? 

Having now followed the punishment of those who die 
in their sins, not only to the state after death, to hades, but 
to the day of judgment; to the coming of the Lord, and 



494 THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 

beyond the resurrection of the dead; to the period when 
those whose names are not written in the book of life shall 
be east into the lake of fire; as the Lord expressed it, "cast 
into hell, where the worm dies not, and the fire shall never 
be quenched ; " into the gehenna of fire. The next point to 
consider is the duration of this punishment. This opens 
the way for the third proposition, submitted at the com- 
mencement of this discourse. 

3. It is reasonable that the punishment of those who die 
in their sins should be of great duration. One fallacy com- 
mon in reasoning on this subject must now be exposed. 
Men are apt to speak of the shortness of the time the wicked 
are engaged in sinning, and, with an air of triumph, exclaim, 
Can it be possible that the sins committed in a finite state 
can have an infinite punishment ? or can it be possible that 
the sins committed in this limited space of time should in- 
cur a punishment of unlimited duration? Those who put 
the matter in this way maintain that it is unreasonable that 
sins committed in such a short space of time shall incur a 
punishment of vast duration. But it is one thing to hear 
to sophistry, and another and a very different thing to hear 
to sound reason and common sense. The question then 
comes up in this form first: Does the time employed in 
transgression, in any court, human or divine, have any thing 
to do in determining the duration of the punishment ? Who 
is prepared to affirm on this proposition? Who argues in 
court that the murderer must have only a very limited pun- 
ishment because he committed the crime in a very short tptuse 
of time? Certainly no man whose legal advice is worth any 
thing. What jurist, in making out and giving a legal opin- 
ion, ever mentions the short space of time employed in the 
commission of crime as a reason for limited punishment/ 
No one whose opiuion is of any weight. The duration of 
time employed in violating the law has nothing to do in de- 



THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 495 

termining either the duration or the severity of the punish- 
ment. It is nothing but a sophistry to gull the simple that 
refers to the duration of the time occupied in the commis- 
sion of crime, as having any thing to do in determining the 
duration or the severity of penalties. 

What, then, is it that has to do in determining the term 
and severity of punishment? The greatness of the crime. 
What do men reason from in considering and determining 
the magnitude of transgression ? From considerations such 
as the following: 

1. The greatness, goodness, and majesty of the authority 
violated by the transgressor. 

2. The design of the transgressor. 

3. The deliberation with which the offense is committed. 

4. The results of the transgression. 

It is no difference whether the transgressor was a minute, 
an hour, a day, or a year engaged in committing the offense, 
so far as determining the penalty is concerned. Questions 
come up touching the greatness, goodness, and majesty of 
the law violated ; the malignity of the design of the trans- 
gressor; the coolness, deliberateness, and premeditation with 
which the offense was committed; the nature, importance, 
and duration of the results of the transgression. When a 
man is being tried for murder, the attorneys do not dwell 
on the duration of time occupied in committing the murder; 
they speak of the great authority and majesty of the law 
violated, its importance in maintaining order, protecting 
property and life; of the malignant design of the murderer; 
the coolness, deliberation, and premeditation of the mur- 
derer; the terrible results of the crime, in striking down 
the noble son of a father and mother, the affectionate hus- 
band, and support of a wife; a kind and good father of 
children; the reckless and awful deed of sending a man 
into eternity without a moment's reflection or preparation, 



496 THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 

and thus cutting him off from all that is dear to him on 
earth. These are the themes dwelt on in making up a de- 
cision in regard to the penalty. 

In the government of God, what proportion does the du- 
ration of time occupied in sin bear to the results of the sin 
committed? How long was Paine employed in writing his 
infidel book, falsely styled " The Age of Reason?" At 
most, only a short space of time. But where will be the 
end of the results of that book? Xone but omniscience 
can see. Shall men of sense maintain that the duration of 
the punishment for the sin of writing such a book must be 
short because he did it in a short space of time ? Certainly 
not. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will look at the re- 
sults of the sin; the terrible nature of those results, and 
the duration of them. The results of the sin of writing 
that book will last while time shall last, and extend into 
eternity. The results of the sin will never disappear. So 
the results of the works of a good man will last while time 
shall last, and be seen in eternity. This is one reason why 
the world is not ready for final judgment. The work- of 
men have not wrought out their results yet. In the final 
judgment, all the works of men will have run their course, 
and their results will all be open before an assembled uni- 
verse, while the Lord shall render to every man according 
to his ivories. 

If a man, then, in a short life-time can set on foot schemes 
of sin that shall continue their results, working ruin among 
men while time shall last, and the consequences extend into 
eternity, is any thing clearer than that the punishment for 
such sins should be of great duration? The effects of a 
man's transgressions do not cease at death; but, in numer- 
ous instances, not only continue after his death, but widen 
and abound vastly more after his death than while he was 
living. The consequences of sin are by no means of short 



THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 497 

duration. They will last till time shall end, nor will they 
then terminate. They will last co-existent with the years 
of God. If the injury a man can do in a short space of 
time has eternal results, is it any wonder that he should 
suffer eternal punishment? 

But the closing proposition of this discourse is the follow- 
ing: 

4. The Scriptures clearly teach that the punishment after 
death will be unlimited in its duration. 

Many have been the idle things said by men who know 
neither the Scriptures nor the power of God touching the 
duration of the final punishment. Among these, it has been 
frequently said we never read of " an endless hell in the 
Bible." To this it may be replied, that we do not. Hell 
is a place — -not time, either limited or unlimited. Of course, 
neither the Bible nor any book from an intelligent source 
speaks of an endless place. The Bible does not speak of the 
length nor the breadth of the place of punishment, but the 
Bible does speak of the duration of the punishment of those 
in that place. This is the matter in hand now. 

The Lord gives some pretty plain intimations on this 
point — Mark iii : 29 — in the words : " He who shall sin 
against the Holy Spirit has never forgiveness, but is in dan- 
ger of eternal condemnation." There could be no danger of 
" eternal condemnation," if there was no such thine in ex- 



g 



istence as eternal condemnation; nor would the Lord have 
spoken of a person who shall never be forgiven, unless a 
person might never be forgiven. A person never forgiven, of 
course, remains under eternal condemnation. Here, the terms 
used to express the duration of the condemnation are as 
strong as language can afford in both the original and the 
English. The man who shall never be forgiven, and re- 
mains under eternal condemnation, is unquestionably lost. 
The duration of his condemnation is unlimited. How can 
42 



498 THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 

you express the unlimited duration of a man's unpardoned 
state, if the words " has never forgiveness " do not do it ? 

The same wonderful language is used to express the fire 
of hell. The Lord says " it shall never be quenched.' ' 
"What is the meaning of this, and what shall we think of 
him who shall try to prove that the punishment in this fire, 
that " shall never be quenched," shall terminate? This 
punishment can never terminate till that which our Lord 
says " shall never be " shall come to pass, or till some man 
shall prove these words of the Lord not true. 

Those who have argued most stoutly against all punish- 
ment after death, have thousands of times quoted and ap- 
plied the words " The Lord God shall wipe off all tears," to 
the eternal state. In this they are correct. John so applies 
this language of the prophet — Rev. xxi : 4. But he soon 
finishes his description of those in the holy city, Xew Jeru- 
salem, and, just four verses further on, gives an account of 
others not in the holy city, in the following words : " But 
the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and mur- 
derers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolators, and 
all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with 
fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Notice, 
this is in the resurrection state, at the precise same period 
when all tears shall be wiped away forever from those in the 
holy city. Some have desired to know something of the ob- 
ject of this " lake of fire." It would be well, probably, to 
furnish them a little light on that important subject. Matt. 
xxv : 41, the Lord says that it was " prepared for the devil 
and his angels." This is the " everlasting fire," or fire that 
" shall never be quenched," where " the worm dies not," is 
" prepared for the devil and his angels," and is the " lake of 
fire " into which the wicked shall be cast after the resurrec- 
tion and the last judgment. 

The angels who sinned, we are informed — Jude 6 — the 



THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 499 

Lord has reserved in everlasting chains of darkness to the 
judgment of the great day. " Chains," here, figuratively 
represent the power by which the angels who sinned are 
bound. " Everlasting chains " is the everlasting power by 
which they are bound. " Everlasting," here, does not come 
from the Greek aionion, as it does usually, but from aidios, 
which occurs in but two places in the New Testament, viz., 
Rom. i : 20 and Jude 6. In the former place it expresses 
the unlimited duration of the existence of the godhead, and 
the latter the duration of the power by which the angels 
that sinned are bound. Matt, xxv : 41, the Lord calls the 
fire, into which the wicked shall be cast, " everlasting fire." 
Matt, xxv : 46, he says of the wicked, " These shall go away 
into everlasting punishment." . The same Greek word that 
the Lord uses to express the duration of the fire and the 
punishment, he uses, in the same connection, to express the 
duration of the life of the righteous or the state of glory. 
At the same time that the righteous enter " life eternal," or 
the state of glory, the wicked " go away into everlasting 
punishment " — " into everlasting fire ; " and the same Greek 
word aionion, that expresses the duration of the fire and 
punishment, in the same connection expresses the duration 
of the life of the saints or the state of glory ; and it is as 
likely that the happiness of the righteous shall cease as that 
this fire, which the Lord calls " everlasting fire," and which, 
he says, shall "never be quenched," and this punishment 
which he calls " everlasting," shall terminate. As certain 
as " life eternal " is endless, or unlimited in its duration, so 
certain the punishment of those who die in their sins will 
be endless or unlimited in its duration. 

The expression, " forever and ever," occurs some twenty- 
three times in the New Testament, and is not used in a 
limited sense in a single instance. It expresses endless or 
unlimited duration in every instance. It is used to express 



500 THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 

the duration of the existence of God, of Christ, of the praises 
of God, and the punishment of the wicked. It occurs in 
such expressions as the following : " Him that lives forever 
and ever ; " " Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, to 
him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and 
ever." That this expression means unlimited duration in 
those passages — in the one case the unlimited duration of 
the Deity, and, in the other, the unlimited duration of the 
ascriptions of praises to him, no one denies. This expres- 
sion is found thirteen times in the book of Revelations. In 
ten of those occurrences it expresses the duration of the life 
of God, the life of Christ, and the duration of the ascending 
praises to heaven. In all those places, that it means un- 
limited duration, all admit. The same expression precisely 
is applied to the punishment of the wicked, three times, in 
the same book. Twice it is said, " The smoke of their tor- 
ment ascended forever and ever;" and once it is said that 
" The devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire 
and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, 
and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever." 

Do you say the conclusion is terrible? It is terrible. So 
is it terrible that intelligent men and women will not listen 
to the voice of God — will not obey their Creator ! Nothing 
but ruin can befall them. Repent, then, turn to the Lord, 
and live forever. 



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